Soul of Quartz
by Agent Numbuh 227
Summary: After deafeating Malachite and stopping the Cluster, things return to normal for the Crystal Gems... until something crashes into the beach. Now, the Gems are forced to fight for their lives as a new enemy seeks their destruction. Steven must now rely on his skills and some new friendships to save his family... and he'll learn some new things about his mother while at it.
1. Crashing the Beach Party

**Hey, everybody! Welcome to my new story! This is essentially a rewrite on my story** _ **Redemption**_ **because I didn't like how that story was going. As it now, I'm deleting** _ **Redemption**_ **from my account since this story will replaced it.**

 **This story comes after my one-shot Barn Mates: Alternative Ending so the events of Hit the Diamond didn't happen in this continuity. This also takes place after 'Steven Floats' so Steven has his floating power already. Anyway, enough chit-chat, let's get this story started! Enjoy!**

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"Explain to me what exactly the purpose of this 'Beach Party' is."

Steven looked up from where he was helping Amethyst set up the volleyball net to look at the tiny green Gem. "We're supposed to have fun, Peridot. Since we spent a lot of time away building the drill, then saving the Earth and Lapis, we decided to do something fun for once."

The past couple of weeks had been stressful for Steven and his family, especially the last few days. Defeating Malachite and stopping the Cluster hadn't been easy plus afterwards Steven had to deal with Lapis' lingering animosity toward Peridot.

But everything had turned out right in the end; Jasper and Lapis had been separated, the Cluster had been bubbled to keep themselves and the Earth safe and Lapis and Peridot were getting along better now. Sure, Jasper's whereabouts were unknown and Homeworld was still a threat but overall peace had been restored and things were back to normal for the Crystal Gems.

"But shouldn't we prioritize searching for Jasper?" insisted Peridot. "She could be out there causing mayhem while we are here wasting time!"

"Chillax, Peri." said Amethyst as she finished setting the net. "G would let us know if we need to worry."

"Sigh, fine." She was still worried but they had a point and the chance to learn more about human culture was something she couldn't miss.

Steven had left theme to check on the rest of the preparations. His dad was cooking hot dogs and burgers on the grill while Pearl and Garnet set up the table and Steven smiled as he watched them interact. It looks like any remaining tension from the Sardonyx Incident had disappeared and they were even closer than before.

His smile shifted into a frown when he noticed Lapis sitting near the shoreline hugging her knees to her chest. She was staring at the ebb and flow of the ocean with a blank expression, not noticing Steven's presence until the boy sat down next to her.

"Steven!" she said startled but quickly smiled. "Hey."

"Hey." he said back. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah!" she said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't have to be here if it makes you uncomfortable, I know that you aren't fond of the ocean now." He said reassuringly. "No one is gonna be mad if you leave."

Lapis looked at him in shock then smiled. "Thanks for thinking about me Steven but I can't stay away from the ocean forever, it is part of who I am."

Steven looked unsure but decide to respect her decision "Ok, but if you need anything just tell me, alright?"

"Sure."

" _Steven!"_

Both Gems looked up to see Connie sprinting toward them, wearing a large sunhat and a duffel bag on her shoulder from which they could see Rose's sword poking out of it. Obviously Connie came prepare even if they were only having a beach party.

"Connie!" he embraced his best friend. "I'm glad you came!"

"It took some time to convince my parents to let me come."

The other Gems came over as they separated though Lapis and Peridot stayed back and Greg kept his focus on the food.

"Hello, Connie." greeted Pearl. "I see you brought Rose's sword with you."

"A good knight is always prepared, Ma'am." The girl said, repeating one of the most frequent lessons Pearl had taught her. The white Gem smiled, pleased that her student followed her teachings.

"Oh Connie, you remember Peridot and Lapis, right?" Steven said, guiding Connie to where the two were.

"Uh, yeah," It was an understatement to say Connie was nervous. She had not really interacted with these two the same way as the rest of the Crystal Gems. The two Gems in question looked almost as nervous as Connie.

Peridot was the first to speak as she cleared her throat. "Greetings, Connie. I recall seeing you at Steven's birthday celebration. I apologize for not making acquaintances then for I was busy with making sure to keep track of the drill's progress."

"Oh, i-it's ok, I understand that you were busy. It's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her hand in greeting but both Gems looked confused by the gesture. "Shaking hands is a common human greeting dating back when humans carried weapons everywhere. By showing that the hand that normally held a weapon was empty, they proved it was intended as a friendly meeting. The custom stuck even when nowadays it's safe to assume most people are unarmed."

Understanding filled both Gems faces and Peridot smiled as she grabbed Connie's hand in her's. "It's nice to meet you as well."

Connie smiled back but her nervousness returned when she turned to Lapis. This was the safe Gem that had stolen the ocean and tried to drown her and Steven. Needless to say, being in her presence made Connie more than nervous.

"Um, n-nice to meet you."

"Likewise," As she finished the handshake, Lapis held a mixed expression of awkwardness and guilt. "Listen, I'm sorry about trying to drown you before, I didn't know humans needed air to live. Steven explained it to me but I'm still sorry."

Connie was surprised by the apology but smiled anyway. "Is ok, that's in the past now. If Steven forgave you then I can too." And her smile widened when Lapis gave a small smile in return.

"So, who wants hot dogs and burgers?"

Greg had chosen that moment to announce the food was ready. Steven and Amethyst both cheered and charged toward the table with Connie following at a slower pace. The others weren't interested in eating so they sat around the table to talk. Steven smiled, watching as Connie, Peridot and Lapis got to know each other better, happy that the two Gems were getting along and that Connie wasn't nervous anymore.

 **Miles away from Beach City**

Groaning as she came to, the powerful warrior lifted her head up from where she lay and looked around. It appeared she had washed up on a rocky beach, the deserted shore stretching for miles. She was completely alone.

"Grr... _**RAAAHHHHH!**_ "

A savage roar erupted from her throat as she punched the sandy ground. Those dammed Crystal Gems! They'll pay for everything and so will Lapis for siding with them. She'll have her revenge and relish as she crushed all of their gems to dust.

 **Just outside Earth's atmosphere**

The vessel floating around Earth's orbit was noticeably different from the one that brought Jasper, Peridot and Lapis to Earth. The ship was colored black and resembled a human patella, making it slightly smaller than Peridot's.

Inside the ship's control room a lone figure sat wrapped in shadow, hiding its features from view. From what little could be discerned, the figure was as tall as Garnet with short spiky hair and piercing golden eyes. Those golden eyes flicked back and forth across the holographic screen as their owner once again reviewed the mission's data. Once it was satisfied, the screen vanished allowing the figure to gaze down at the Earth through the ship's viewing port.

" _So, this is where Yellow Diamond's mission has brought me,"_ the voice was female, smooth and strong. _"More than 5,000 years have passed and I find myself once again in this insignificant planet."_

The Gem's gaze moved away from the window to the control panel before her. With fluid grace, she lifted her hand and pressed down on a section that glowed at her touch. A panel opened below the ship and various objects were launched, shooting at great velocity towards Earth.

 **Back at the beach**

After eating, Steven suggested a game of volleyball and mostly everyone agreed. Lapis and Peridot chose to observe for the time being, so the teams consisted of Garnet, Pearl and Greg vs. Amethyst, Steven and Connie. The game was very intense with neither team willing to give up. Amethyst made use of her shapeshifting extensively but neither Steven not Connie where slouching. Using impressive teamwork, the children and Amethyst gave the other team a run for their money a Pearl and Garnet visibly struggled to keep up, Greg having already run out of breath.

After a while, both Lapis and Peridot decided to join in so Greg and Connie substituted with them. Now it was Garnet, Pearl and Peridot vs. Steven, Connie and Lapis. The new game started slow at first while the newer Gems learned how to play. Soon, they got the hang of it and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The game came to an end when Garnet jumping high into the air and served the ball with such force in heat up from the velocity, turning the sand into glass on impact and destroying the ball.

Everyone was now sitting on beach towels as they watched the sun set behind the ocean, painting the sky and waters with brilliant colors. As they all relaxed, the two newer Gems agreed that the day had been quite fun.

"I must say, this beach party was very entertaining." said Peridot from her place next to Amethyst. "You were right, Steven. This fun was something necessary for us."

"Yeah," agreed Lapis, who sat on Peridot's other side, close to Steven. "This was fun. And it really didn't bother me being so close to the ocean. I might start to enjoy being in it again sooner than I expected."

Steven smiled, glad that his friends had fun. He happily continued to gaze at the beautiful sunset next to Connie, taking in the peach he felt at being with his family.

 _ **BOOM!**_

The peace shattered as a resounding _boom_ rippled through the air, startling the Crystal Gems.

 _Boom! Boom! Boom!_

More _booms_ resounded but these seemed more distant. Still, it was enough to rattle the Crystal Gems who were already on alert by the first _boom_ and were standing up in alert _._

"What in the stars was that?!" screeched Pearl, summoning her spear even if they were no enemies around.

"It sounded like a sonic boom," said Connie and she elaborated when Steven gave her a confused look. "It happens when something travels so fast it breaks the sound barrier."

"Sounds like many somethings broke the sound barrier," said Greg nervously.

Garnet was still as a statue, silently gazing up at the darkening sky. Suddenly, her eyes widened behind her. "Something is heading this way!"

The others alarmingly turned to where the fusion was looking in time to see an object approaching them at high velocity. They didn't have time to take in details before the object crashed several feet away from the group, lifting up a huge cloud of smoke as it created a huge crater in the beach.

"Garnet, what do we do?" asked Pearl nervously, shaking slightly. She couldn't help it; today was supposed to be relaxing but once again they faced danger and so soon after the Malachite/Cluster situation and she wasn't the only nervous one. Peridot trembled as she cowered behind Amethyst while the ocean's tempo increased in response to Lapis anxiety.

Seeing the others fear, Garnet quickly made a decision. "We are gonna see what we are up against."

The others nodded and followed the fusion toward the crater, summoning their weapons while Connie retrieved Rose's sword (Greg decided to stay behind and out of their way to not burden them).

They soon approached the edge of the crater, and Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl gazed inside of it. The dust settled, allowing them to see the cause of the crater embedded on the center of it.

"It looks like a pod?" said Pearl uncertainly.

Indeed it was a pod, but this one was different from Peridot's. For one thing it was black with yellow 'veins' crisscrossing the surfaces and instead of being a sphere, this pod had an elongated shape, making it resemble a pill.

Peridot approached the edge of the crater when she heard the word 'pod' and gazed down at it. The pod looked familiar to the tiny technician but she couldn't quite place where she had seen it before. Suddenly, her eyes widened as the memory of the pod returned to her and she stumbled away from the crater, shaking in terror.

" _No,"_ she whimpered in fear. _"It can't be..."_

 **On the rocky shore miles away**

The warrior gazed down her own crater at a similar pod that sat in the bottom. Unlike the green Gem, she did not cower or whimper, not even when the pod opened and a cloud of steam spilled out. She kept her gaze leveled as a shape was revealed in the smoke, two glowing red eyes staring at the warrior with killer intent.

* * *

 **This turned out a bit differently from my original draft for the chapter but I think it turned out great. I got the next chapter sorta planned out and I'll be working on it as soon as possible because I hope to have at least a few chapters up before the new episodes July 18** **th** **. Chapter two will hopefully be done soon! In the meantime, read, review, favorite and follow!**


	2. Crystal Gems vs Killer Robot

**Wow, chapter two up already? I'm on a roll! It helped that I had most of this chapter planned in advance. Ok, enough boring talk, let's begin!**

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"Peridot, what's wrong?" said Steven worriedly. The others had noticed the technician's reaction to the pod's presence and were now backing away from the crater.

" _No, no, no,"_ Peridot didn't seem to hear Steven, still whispering in denial. _"It's one of them!"_

"Peridot!" yelled Garnet, grabbing Peridot by the shirt and shaking her. "What's this pod?!"

The fusion's tone managed to snap Peridot back to the present but she was still frantic. "WE HAVE TO GET AWAY!" she screamed, wrenching herself free from Garnet's grip. "Quick, before it activates!"

" _What_ activates?" pressed on Garnet.

 _HISSSSS!_

Everyone turned back to the crater as they heard the loud hissing sound, seeing the pod open and a cloud of smoke to pour out. As the cloud dissipated, they could make out a figure inside the pod, its features undiscernible due to the smoke; all except its glowing red eyes.

" _Too late!"_ whimpered Peridot.

The figure leaped out of the crater and over the Gems' heads, landing several feet away from them, just between them and Greg. Under the light of the setting sun, the figure was six and a half feet tall with silver metallic 'skin' with some black parts resembling a tank top, miniskirt and knee-length boots. Its head was round with a pattern resembling hair, topped with a pair of antennae that resembled pigtails and a small, pointy nose. Its mouth was a grim frown, its glowing red eyes glaring menacingly at the Gems from behind a gray visor.

"A robot?" questioned Steven, confused. The others didn't lower their guards as they sized up their opponent, their grips on their weapons tightening.

"T-that's not _just_ as robot," Peridot was shaking more than ever behind Garnet's leg. "It is a Gem Locator  & Destroyer Unit designed to track and shatter renegades designated by Homeworld's database."

"You're not saying..." Pearl went mute with terror.

"This thing is a Gem killer." growled Garnet.

GLD Unit XJ10 continued to glare at them as its scanner collected their data, the information displayed on her visor.

 _ **:Threat Identified:**_

 _ **:Classification – Renegade Gems:**_

 _ **:Threat Level – High:**_

 _ **:Commence Destroy Protocol:**_

Its arms turned into cannons which were aimed at the Crystal Gems. Twin energy spheres were fired and another _boom_ pierced the air as a cloud of sand blocked the sight.

 **On the rocky shore**

Jasper eyes followed it the GLD Unit as it leaped out of the crater to stand before her. Both Gem and robot were in a silent staring contest, waiting to see who would make the first move. Jasper's face was impassive, an outward show of calmness that did not betray the slight panic within her.

 _They sent a Gem Destroyer after me? Does Yellow Diamond think my failure warranted my immediate destruction?_

Finally, the Unit moved and Jasper tensed but to her confusion, there was no attack. The visor covering the Unit's face glowed and a holographic screen appeared. On the screen was the same shadowy figure that had sent the Units, sitting on her chair. Despite, the obscured features, Jasper was able to recognize her.

" _You!"_

" _Greetings, Jasper Facet 3A3B Cut 3XG,"_ said the figure calmly. _"Its interesting that our paths have once again crossed on this planet. Last we saw of each other was when we evacuated after failing to destroy the rebels."_

"Just get to the point!" Jasper was getting irritated. "Yellow Diamond sent you to shatter me."

The figure was silent for a while then chuckled as if she found what Jasper said amusing. Jasper was now confused but didn't let it show on her face as she found herself angry at this Gem for apparently mocking her. The figure continued for a few more seconds before regaining her composure.

" _I must apologize but I couldn't help to find the notion amusing. No, I haven't been sent to destroy you but to find and return you to Homeworld. You are still of much value to our Diamond despite your failure to complete a simple mission."_

Jasper growled at being reminded that she failed but she relaxed internally. She wasn't being destroyed and that brought a sense of relief to Jasper as the fear she had refused to acknowledge dissipated.

" _Although,"_ Jasper snapped to attention as the Gem continue. _"I am curious as to why your mission failed. I would have thought that a Peridot would be competent enough to not accidently crash the ship."_

"What? Accidently crash the ship?" Jasper became ever more confused at that statement. "That's not what happened."

" _Are you certain? Because according to the mission data, Peridot Facet2F5L Cut 5XG used the Diamond Line and told Yellow Diamond in person that there had been an accident while landing."_

"Peridot?! Why would she-" her eyes narrowed. "Those traitors! They must have forced Peridot to lie or even got her to join them."

" _Traitors?"_ echoed the shadow Gem. _"From Rose Quartz's rebellion? I was under the impression all of them had been either shattered or corrupted."_

"They must have been immune to corruption or something because I saw them myself when I escorted Peridot to their base. There was a fusion, the defective renegade pearl, an overcooked runt of an amethyst and Rose Quartz."

" _Rose Quartz?"_

"Yes, she had a different form for some reason but I recognized her Gem and shield." She took an unnecessary breath and continued. "After I destabilized the fusion, I knocked her out, captured the other two and imprisoned them on the ship."

" _So you decided to abandon your mission to capture a few renegades that would have been destroyed anyway by the Cluster's emergence."_

Jasper winced but she didn't deny the statement because it was true. Her mission was to escort Peridot while she checked the status of the Cluster. She could have simply disabled or even shattered them herself and continue with the mission. But no, she had to decide that imprisoning them was more important than completing the mission. She had been foolish but Jasper wasn't about to admit it out loud.

" _Although, given that it's_ the _Rose Quartz we are talking about, I can understand the change in your priorities."_ A sound was heard inside the control room and the shadow Gem looked at something off-screen. _"Hmm, now this is interesting; it seems Unit XJ10 has encountered hostile non-corrupted Gems."_

"It's _them_!" snarled Jasper. "When I'll get my hands on them I'll-"

" _Stand down, Jasper,"_ commanded the shadow Gem. _"Unit XJ10 will take care of them."_

 **Back with the Gems**

" _Steven!"_ Greg screamed in horror as the killer robot seemingly evaporated his son, Connie and the Gems though he couldn't see anything due to the sand that the blast lifted.

His horror shifted to amazement and relief as the sand cleared to reveal everyone safe and sound, a shield of water surrounding them. Lapis stood in front with her arms raised, a look of determination on her face as she used her powers to protect them. She dropped the shield at a signal from Garnet and stood with everyone ready for the next attack.

 _ **:Initial Attack Failed:**_

 _ **:Activate Battle Protocol:**_

XJ10 charged at them at high speeds with the intention of poofing them quickly. They jumped away at the last second and took positions around the robot; Amethyst and Pearl at each side, Garnet right in front of it and Lapis in the air above it. Steven and Connie where right behind it, shield and sword ready as Peridot cowered behind them.

"Gems, attack!"

At Garnet's order, Amethyst wrapped her whip around the robot and Pearl leaped high then aimed her spear down as she feel with the intention of impaling XJ10. The robot dodged the spear and sent an electric current through the whip that shocked Amethyst. Pearl tried to behead it with her spear but it dodged once again, grabbing the spear and using it to throw Pearl into Amethyst, knocking both Gems down.

"Pearl! Amethyst!" called Steven alarmingly.

Garnet gritted her teeth and sprinted at full speed with her left gauntlet drawn back while Lapis dive-bombed from above. Briefly looking up, XJ10 raised it left arm and fired a beam that trapped lapis in an energy bubble then intercepting Garnet's rocket-fast punch with its other hand. The impact's force created a large shockwave that almost knocked the kids and Peridot down.

Garnet blinked behind her shades as the robot looked unaffected by the strength of her punch. XJ10 brought it other arm down and tried to use the bubbled Lapis as a bludgeon but Garnet saw it coming, dodging clear. She aimed both fists and rocket-launched them at the robot who leaped out of the way. Before Garnet could regenerate them, XJ10 moved at blinding speeds and jammed its pointer and middle finger into the center of her chest.

" _AAAHHHHHH!"_ Garnet screamed in agony as a pain akin to being hit with a Gem Destabilizer course through her form.

" _GARNET!"_ Connie had to hold back Steven as he tried to run to help Garnet. They watched horrified as Garnet's body turned into light and unfused, Ruby and Sapphire creating twin furrows on the sand as they were thrown back.

"S-Sapphire..." groaned Ruby as she watched her lover lay crumpled in the sand next to her.

"Ru-Ruby..." whispered Sapphire, trying to lift her head then dropping it down in exhaustion.

Pearl and Amethyst had recovered and threw themselves to tackle XJ10 from behind. XJ10 merely aimed its right arm back to capture them in a bubble like Lapis. It then sent a current to both bubbles, shocking all three Gems into weakness, dumping them next to Ruby and Sapphire afterwards.

"Guys!" Steven was filled with anguish as he watched his family get defeated before him. He backed a step when the robot turned around to face him, Connie and Peridot, its glowing red eyes locking with his own dark ones at it prepared to attack.

" _HIYAAHHHH!"_

 _CLANK!_

Greg had snuck behind the robot and brought the heavy grill down on its head. The grill dented on impact while the robot remained completely still, unfazed by the attack. It turned its head sideways to stare at a nervous Greg with a single glowing, blood-red eye.

"Uh, Hehehe..." Greg laughed nervously. "Gah!" XJ10 grabbed him by the front of his shirt and effortlessly threw him into the ocean. "GAAAHHHHH!" _SPLASH!_

"Dad!"

XJ10 charged once again at full speed, its arms turning into blades that it brought down on the three.

 _Clank!_

Connie had lifted her sword just in time to block the blades, her knees bending slightly as the force pushed her down. XJ10 fixed its gaze on her as it scanned its opponent.

 _ **:Threat Identified:**_

 _ **:Classification – Organic Lifeform:**_

 _ **:Threat Level – Low:**_

With a sudden burst of strength, Connie pushed XJ10 away and swiftly swung her sword to slash its side. A few sparks flew out of the damaged zone and the robot appeared to take a moment check it. It then lifted its head to lock eyes with Connie, its glowing eyes looking into her brown ones.

 _ **:Threat Level Changed To – High:**_

The robot ran forward to swing its left blade-arm at the Maheswaran girl. Connie dodged and thrust her own blade forward to stab but it was blocked. XJ10 swung its other blade to behead her but Connie ducked and slipped between its legs to get behind the robot. With a mighty cry, she proceeded to stab the robot in the back but XJ10's upper body spun 180 degrees and once again blocked her sword. Connie's surprise gave XJ10 the chance to knock the pink sword out of the girl's hands, leaving her open for impaling.

 _Clank!_

XJ10's blades were once again prevented from reaching their target, this time due to the interference of a pink shield with vine designs and a pink triangle in the center. Steven stood protectively over Connie as he glared up at the killer robot. This thing had hurt his friends and his dad, he wasn't gonna let it hurt Connie as well.

 _ **:Threat Identified:**_

 _ **:Classification – Gem... Organic Lifefo… Ge…:**_

 _ **: Error! Error! Error! Classification Impossible:**_

Error messages flashed before XJ10's gaze as its scanner tried to identify what this lifeform was. The readings were both Gem and organic but there was nothing on its database that matched it and XJ10's struggled to process the information.

 _Clank!_

The robot's moment of hesitation allowed Steven to throw his shield at its face and for Connie to retrieve Rose's sword. Temporarily stunned by the shield's impact, the robot couldn't react as Connie slipped behind it and smacked the back of its head with the sword, creating a dent.

Fractured data flashed before XJ10's eyes as its limbs spammed involuntarily. Its vision temporally cleared to see Peridot in front of it, completely unguarded.

" _Oh no, ya don't!"_

Before the robot could take a single step toward Peridot, Ruby came out of nowhere and punched the robot on the stomach with a flaming fist. The robot flew high in the air, arching over Greg's head as he waded back to shore and splashed far into the ocean, sinking like a rock.

 **On the ship**

"Well, this is unexpected."

" _What?"_ asked Jasper from the Holo-screen in front of the shadow Gem's chair.

"I have lost connection with Unit XJ10; the rebels must have managed destroyed It." said the shadow Gem as she reviewed the data that had been coming from the Unit.

" _Filthy traitors."_ growled Jasper. _"Give me their location, I'll crush them myself!"_

"Negative, Jasper. They already defeated you once and somehow managed to defeat a GLD Unit, we mustn't underestimate them. Fortunately, XJ10's battle data was recorded on the ship's database so we shall be able to have an idea of what we are up against." She sat back as the visual data replayed the events of the battle. On Jasper's end, the Holo-screen split in two so that she could also see the battle and still talk with the other Gem.

"Lazuli!" growled Jasper as she recognized the blue, winged Gem. "It's bad enough that she withheld information and trapped me in a fusion for several lunar cycles but she went and sided with the same Gems that imprisoned her? Peridot too! I hoped she was a prisoner or something but the dirty runt defected!"

The video proceeded to show how each Gem had been defeated then showed first Greg then Connie attacking the Unit.

"What are those things?"

" _The scanner identifies them as organic beings so they are probably humans."_ Responded the shadow Gem calmly as she analyzed the battle.

"But why does that runt has Rose's sword?!"exclaimed Jasper with disgust and ager in her voice."To think she would allow such a disgusting creature to even touch her weapon!"

The video continued to run up to the point where XJ10 disarmed Connie, preparing to kill her only for Steven to intervene.

"That's her!" shouted Jasper. _"_ Rose Quartz! And she is still in that weak form!" Jasper looked like she would explode. Seeing Lazuli and Peridot on the rebels' side had ignited her ire but the inferno had been fueled at the sight of Rose Quartz. It angered her even more that the Gem whose tactics she had admired and respected would not even fight on her true form.

" _Are you certain that is Rose Quartz?"_

"What?" Jasper stared at the other Gem like she was crazy, confused by the question. "O-Of course it's her! There is only one Rose Quartz and that's her shield! Who else could it be?!"

" _The readings identify this creature as both a Gem and an organic lifeform."_

"What!" Ok, now Jasper was convinced the other Gem had lost her mind. "That's impossible! There's no way for something to be both organic and a Gem. You must be reading the data incorrectly.

The shadow Gem was now silent for several moments and it allowed Jasper to realize that she had stepped over the line.

" _Are you questioning my mental capacity, Jasper Facet 3A3B Cut 3XG?"_ when she spoke again, the shadow Gem's calm voice held a hint of cold anger. _"Do you remember who exactly you are talking to?"_

Jasper nodded as she shivered slightly despite not being in the same room as her. This Gem could make even the most seasoned warriors feel like freshly-mined rookies.

" _But,"_ the shadow Gem's voice returned to normal. _"Your statement about the impossibility of these readings is sound so I shall forgive this insult this time."_

"I'm a grateful for your mercy," said Jasper, bowing her head slightly in submission.

" _I am now sending new orders to the other Units to capture this creature and the other rebels. Unit XJ17 shall guide you to the location where I shall land my. There we shall be able to study the creature or force information out of its companions if we fail to capture it. Is that understood, Jasper?"_

"Yes, Black Spinel."

* * *

 **So, now we know the name of our new enemy, next time we will know her appearance when Jasper meets with her. The GLD Units, mainly XJ10, are based on XJ9 or Jenny Wakeman from** _ **My Life as a Teenage Robot**_ **, so they look like black versions of Jenny. Note that this is an original character based on another character from a different series, an expy to be exact. This is not intended to be a crossover and I'm not stealing someone else's characters.** _ **My Life as a Teenage Robot**_ **and its characters belongs to their rightful creators, the same with** _ **Steven Universe**_ **. I only own this story, the OCs and the ideas. Anyway, read, review favorite and follow!**


	3. Crystal Armor

**Here's chapter three! This one might be boring because there isn't any action but you might find the information provided to be of interest.**

* * *

"Are you ok, Sapphy?!"

"Yes Ruby, I'm ok. How about you, are you ok?"

"Who cares! Are you sure you are fine?!"

"Yes, I'm sure." Sapphire took one of Ruby's large hands in her own tiny ones to comfort her. "And _I_ care about you."

After Ruby had sucker-punched the robot into a deep sea grave, she had hurried over to check on the recovering Sapphire, practically forgetting about the other injured Gems and Greg. Fortunately for them, the children and Peridot to over on making sure they were fine.

"Dad! Are you ok?" Steven wrapped his arms around Greg and gave his father a hug, not caring he was dripping wet from his swim in the ocean.

"Yeah, I'm fine." reassured Greg, hugging his son. He turned to where Connie was helping Pearl up. "What about you guys? You got it worse than me."

"We are fine, Greg." It was a bit difficult to be convinced, though, especially when she was leaning on Connie for support.

"Are you sure?" questioned Steven worriedly, noticing that Pearl's white skin had a few dark blue bruises marring it. "Maybe I should try my healing spit?" he offered even though there was no guaranteed it would work.

"That won't be necessary, Steven. These bruises will heal quicker than on any human." Steven looked unsure but he accepted it.

Peridot was checking Lapis and Amethyst over, deeming them to be not seriously harmed.

"Ruby, for the last time I'm fine," Sapphire was actually starting to lose her patience with Ruby.

"But Sapphire!"

"Ruby, you should probably direct that concern to the others since they were more affected than us."

Ruby blinked and looked at the others, shame and guilt coloring her expression. When separated, she always focused solely on Sapphire as if no one else existed but them, completely ignoring her friends. Despite only interacting with them as Garnet most of the time, Ruby and Sapphire cared for them all, especially Steven.

"Um, you guys are ok, right?" asked Ruby nervously, walking up to them.

"We're fine, Ruby. Thank you for your concern." said Pearl. "What about you and Sapphire?"

"We're fine, Pearl." answered Sapphire. "Though, the experience was less than pleasant."

"Yeah, it was worse than when Jasper hit us with the Destabilizer." Ruby shuddered. Sapphire hugged her comfortingly and Ruby returned the embrace. Their forms melded into light as they fused and Garnet stood once again before them.

"CONNIE!"

Connie looked up in surprise as her parents sprinted down the beach toward them, panic evident on their faces.

"Mom? Dad?"

Dr. Maheswaran dropped to her knees before her daughter and hugged her tightly. "You're alright! What happened here? It looks like a warzone here!" she asked frantically as her husband joined the hug. The description wasn't too wrong despite the exaggeration. Apart from the crater the pod made, hey were deep furrows and upturned sand on the battle area.

"We were attacked by a dangerous robotic unit designed to shatter renegade Gems sent here by order of the governing authority of our former Homeworld."

Doug and Priyanka had looks of shock and terror on their faces as Priyanka subconsciously tightened her grip on her daughter.

"Uh, maybe we should go back to the house and explain them everything," suggested Greg, not entirely happy at Peridot's tactless explanation.

"I agree," nodded Garnet and silently walked back to the temple with the other Gems following her. Steven stayed back a bit to help Connie snap her parents out of their terrified stupor and they all followed the Gems back to the temple.

 **With Jasper**

Jasper followed Unit XJ17 far away from the rocky shore to a small forested area. The killing unit guided the warrior through the thick woods until they came upon a medium-sized clearing and became still, waiting. A few moments later, something covered he moonlight, blanketing the clearing in shadows. The black patella ship descended from the skies and touched down on the clearing coming to a complete stop.

Once the ship was still, Unit XJ17 advanced again with Jasper trailing behind. They stood on side of the ship, the GLD Unit then lifting a hand and pressed it to the ship's hull. The section it had touched glowed and a door opened up to allow them in.

They passed various corridors filled with cells not unlike the ones that the Hand Ship had and arrived to the control room. Black Spinel was sitting on her chair, facing away from them as they entered, her gaze fixed on the screen before her. She was once again playing the battle between the Crystal Gems and Unit XJ10, studying every detail thoroughly.

Once the video had finished and the screen vanished, Black Spinel addressed the others. "Unit XJ17, you may leave to await future orders." The robot silently obeyed, leaving the two Gems alone.

Black Spinel lifted herself from her chair and turned to face Jasper. The shadows no longer obscured her form, allowing Jasper to see her full appearance. She was seven feet tall with a large chest and curvy hips. Her skin was pitch black with her hair being as dark as space, reaching just below her neck and styled in a spiky style. She wore a dark gray full body suit, just a few shades lighter than her skin, with pale gray gloves that reached her elbows and knee-length boots. Draped over her shoulders was a black hooded cape with the cowl lowered and a clasp shaped like a yellow diamond. Her Gem was oval-shaped with various facets and was visible thanks to a hole on the right side of her chest.

Her eyes glinted with a golden light as she gazed at Jasper with serious look on her face. A moment later, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards into a small smirk.

"Jasper," she greeted.

"Black Spinel," the warrior nodded back. "You were replaying the battle the whole way here?"

"Indeed I have," she confirmed. "You must agree that the situation is unprecedented so it is of great intrigue to me. Studying the battle in detail may give me information on how this hybrid creature thinks and allow me to create the best strategy to capture it."

"I don't know why you waste time coming up with a strategy when you can just send a squad of your Units to capture it." Jasper believed that would work. They only defeated the Unit because they got lucky so they certainly stood no chance against more than one.

"Hmm, perhaps I could do that," Spinel appeared to be considering. "But if I may remind you something, we are not facing an ordinary renegade. This creature is a mystery to us and we do not know its abilities. The simple fact that it possesses Rose Quartz's Gem suggests that it has her powers and there's no need to remind you how powerful she was. There's also the possibility that the creature has abilities unknown to us so it would be unwise of us to go into battle without knowing the enemy's weakness."

Jasper growled I annoyance but knew Spinel had a point. It would be disastrous to charge in without any Intel on this thing. He had made the mistake of underestimating it once and she had ended trapped as a horrid fusion under the ocean by Lazuli.

She sighed in defeat and looked at Spinel firmly. "What do you suggest we do?"

Spinel smirked as Jasper started to see her way. "First, you will tell me everything about your encounters with these Gems and then I'll do some investigating on my own."

 **Back at the Temple**

Priyanka nd Doug weren't sure what to expect from this 'Temple' where Steven and his family lived. The huge, multi-armed woman carved into the mountain came close to their minds but not the small, wooden house built just below it. The inside was fairly normal except for the crystal platform and the odd door on the back. Later, once they had returned home, Connie would tell them that the whole house was in reality Steven's 'room' while the Gems lived inside the Temple (except for Peridot and Lapis who lived in a barn owned by Greg).

At the moment, Priyanka, Doug and Connie were sitting on the couch with Steven next to Connie and the other Gems standing before them. Pearl had served them some tea to help them relax, also taking a cup for herself. The Gems proceeded to relate how a pod had crashed their beach party and what Peridot described as a robot designed to kill Gems came out, attacked them and soundly defeated all the Gems minus Peridot. It was only a stroke of luck that the robot had hesitated in attacking Steven, allowing the children to fight back until help arrived.

"There's the possibility that the Unit might return," explained Peridot, drawing everyone's attention. "They possess a self a self-repairing application but it is related to the amount of damage sustained. The damage it sustained could have been enough to deactivate the function but that isn't certain. And even if that particular Unit is down, the additional i _booms/i_ indicate that more than one was sent."

"Then Connie shouldn't come here anymore, at least until this had been dealt with," declared Doug.

"I also think she will be safer away from here." Priyanka didn't really want to separate Connie from Steven but this appeared to be a more dangerous situation than a few rampant Gem experiments.

"But-" began Steven but Connie beat him to it.

"No way!" Connie stated loudly, quickly getting up from the couch to stand in front of her parents. "I am Steven's knight and I'm not letting him fight these things alone." Her words were firm and resolute, making them realize that she wasn't giving them an option. One way or another, she will come back to Steven's side, weather they wanted it or not.

"Yeah, and I can protect her!" added Steven proudly. "Connie and I are a team and we are much stronger together.

"Either way, she wouldn't be safe," added Peridot, seriously. "All the Units are connected to each other by a data network that's also linked to whoever sent them. If one is defeated the others receive the battle data and learn from it."

"Besides, if the Gem who sent them has the data of our fight then they might know about Connie and will likely make her a target." Pearl reasoned, adding her own two cents. "At least with us she has a chance of fighting back."

"Sigh, I can't argue with that," sighed Priyanka and she hugged Connie. "Just promise me that you'll be careful, honey."

"I will, Mom," Connie hugged her back.

"You better make sure nothing bad happens to her, Steven," warned Doug fiercely, fixing his gaze on the Universe boy.

"I promise," said Steven with serious face, nodding.

After finishing their tea, the Maheswarans left, promising to bring Connie tomorrow. After they left, Steven yawned signifying he was tired and went to take a shower. Soon afterwards he was decked out in his pajamas and snoring away on his bed. Greg decided to crash on the couch for tonight while Amethyst went to her room with Peridot and Lapis in tow, Garnet having convinced them to stay in the beach house for their safety. Once they had left, Pearl turned to Garnet, worry in her features."

"Garnet, if what Peridot says is true, then a Homeworld Gem must either be on near Earth or on the planet itself. Can you see anything?"

"I have been trying for a while but for some reason my future vision is blurry," she answered, concentrating hard to see any glimpses but failing. She frowned. "I don't like it. Only certain powerful Gems could hide themselves from my vision and if one of them if here then I fear we are in greater danger."

Fear and worry threatened to swallow Pearl and she desperately tried to hold it back as to not appear weak. But it was useless as she couldn't stop the terror coursing through her mind and heart. If Garnet was correct then a Gem whose power could almost compare to the Diamonds was after them; Gem even more powerful than Lapis or Jasper, the kind only Rose Quartz could have a chance to defeat. But Rose was gone and Steven hadn't even awakened all of his powers.

' _What if these robots manage to kill us? What if_ who _sent the robots came themselves? What if instead of killing Steven, they decide to experiment on him?'_

"Pearl!"

Garnet's voice snapped Pearl out of her dark images and she looked up to see her image reflected on her friend's shades. Pearl was surprised to see tears on her cheeks and gasped when Garnet pulled her into a hug. She stood frozen for a second then gave in, burying her face in Garnet's chest, weeping.

"Shhh is alright, I'm here," said the fusion soothingly. "We'll come through."

"How?" sobbed Pearl. "We don't even know what we are up against!"

"True but we need to have faith in ourselves and in Steven. He is far stronger than any of us realize, so are the others. We must believe in them."

The words didn't completely relieve Pearl's anguish but she was a bit more calm and hopeful, especially since she was in Garnet's arms.

 **The next morning**

After breakfast, Garnet gathered everyone around to discuss how to tackle the situation. It was decided that no one was to go out alone and at least one Gem will be with Steven at all times. Pearl suggested going to Rose's Armory for any useful weaponry and bringing out the Light Cannons with Peridot saying she could make adjustments for easier mobility.

"It might be also a good idea to retrieve that blaster I installed on the drill, it could be useful."

Mr. Maheswaran came over to drop Connie off before heading for work and everyone was shocked to see a handgun strapped to his hip.

"Y-You own a GUN!?" was all Greg could say as he stared with wide eyes.

"I belong to a gun owner club and go from time to time to brush up on my aim," Doug explained seriously. "I mostly keep it locked up but Priyanka and I decided to keep it at hand for protection."

"I am not sure that would work." said Lapis, skeptically. "Your weapon seems too primitive to go against something so advanced."

"What do you think Peridot?" asked Pearl. "You're more familiar with these GLD Units than the rest of us."

"In theory, any weapon could disable them depending on where they hit. I suggest aiming at the back of their heads to damage their processing units or the chest to their power source."

Mr. Maheswaran took the advice to heart and knelt to hug Connie goodbye, telling her to be careful. Then he stood up and walked out the door to go to work. Once gone, Steven told Connie about their plans.

"I'll help anyway I can," she declared firmly.

"Good, then you can come with us and Steven to get stuff from Rose's Armory," she indicated herself and Pearl. "Lapis and Amethyst can go to the barn with Peridot to help dismantle the blaster from the drill."

Everyone nodded at the leader's orders and the AmeLapiDot trio warped to the barn. Before the others could hop on the warp pad, though, a portal opened and out strode Lion.

"Lion!" exclaimed Steven, running to hug his friend. "Where were you? You missed the beach party!"

"His presence could have been useful in fighting that thing," said Pearl annoyed as she frowned and crossed her arms.

"Well, he's here now and he can help us fight the robots," said Garnet, placing a calming hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"Oh, I know! He can warp us to Mom's armory so that we don't have to climb that mountain," Steven then addressed Lion. "Lion, can you please warp us to the cave where Mom has her weapons? There may be a bunch of dangerous robots out there and we need some stuff to defend ourselves."

Lion looked at Steven expressionlessly for a few moments then roared up a portal. The Gems and children climbed on his back and the pink beast hoped through, the portal vanishing a second later.

 **Rose's Armory**

Inside the cave, another portal appeared out of thin air and out flew Lion, skidding a distance across the wet floor before coming to a stop. Garnet, Pearl, Steven and Connie hopped off and headed towards the circular platform with the pink hand pedestal on the center. Amethyst had decided to stay back to help Peridot and Lapis upgrade Peridot's laser.

"I haven't been here since that Robot Shooting Thing attacked us," commented Connie.

The group stood before the hand pedestal and Garnet motioned for Steven to place his hand on the pedestal. The boy complied and the whole platform lit up, the weapons and armor rising up from below.

"Steven, turn your hand slightly clockwise," instructed Pearl. "There's a lower level where Rose stored her most powerful weapons."

Steven nodded and turned his hand a bit to the right. A section of the floor glowed then vanished, revealing a staircase going down and the quartet descended various feet into the mountain

Connie and Steven gasped in amazement as they entered a fairly large chamber. Various crystals lit up the space, showing a number of crystalline cases that stored weapons within them. Some of the weapons were easy to identify like swords, axes and bows but a lot of them were like nothing the children had seen before.

"Wow, Mom sure had a lot of weapons," Steven said a little uneasy. Though he knew his mother had been a warrior Gem and had fought wars, he still found shocking that a Gem as kind and loving as she was described had such a large arsenal of weapons at her disposal.

"Steven, your mother truly believed peace was the best answer," said Garnet, likely picking up on Steven's uneasiness. "But even she knew that violence sometimes was inevitable."

Steven looked at his mentor figure in surprise but he nodded seriously, understanding what she was saying.

Connie was in awe, turning around in circles to take in everything in the weapons' vault. She felt like she was at a museum gazing at an exhibit about ancient fantastical weapons. Considering how long ago the Rebellion happened, she wasn't far off.

The girl suddenly paused and turned toward one of the display cases on the far wall. Moving as if in a trance, Connie walked over to the case and stood before it, gazing at what it contained. Inside were various armor sets consisting of breastplates and armbands, each a different size and color. Their most striking feature was that they sparkled slightly, as if made of crystals.

Pearl noticed her student gazing into the case and her eyes slightly widened in surprise when she realized what was inside. Shaking off her shock, the knight went to stand next to her pupil who didn't take her eyes of from the armor.

"What is this armor made of?" asked Connie. "It doesn't look like any metal I know."

"That's because there not made of anything found on Earth," explained Pearl. "It's made using crystalinite, a material not native of this galaxy."

The others came over as Pearl continued her explanation. "Crystalinite is virtually indestructible and we use it to construct things like weapons or ships. Your mother's sword, her Light Cannons and the Crystal Heart are made of crystalinite."

"I didn't know Gems used armor," said Steven, looking back and forth between the armor and his guardians. "You guys never use any."

"Gem soldiers don't need armor because our bodies are fairly resistant to damage." explained Garnet. "But the rebellion consisted mostly of non-warrior Gems so when the war began to worsen, Rose had armor made of crystalinite be made and given to those who would need the protection. It proved to be useful as we could store it inside our Gems and summon it like our weapons. Some of us began calling it Crystal Armor and it stuck."

Connie kept gazing at the Crystal Armor as she processed their history in her mind. She remained silent for a few more seconds before finally taking her gaze of the armor and asked her teacher. "Could I wear a set?"

The question surprised everyone present, except Garnet since she had seen the possibility, albeit it had been small. Recovering her voice, Pearl addressed the girl. "I suppose you can, I mean, nothing about should harm you."

Smiling, Connie turned back to the cabinet, her eyes shifting from one set of armor to the next, excited at the prospect of wearing magical armor like the heroes she read about. Her gaze then feel on a set colored dark blue, seemingly of her size. Connie couldn't explain it, but she felt drawn to it, as if something was calling to her.

"What about that one?"

When Pearl looked at the armor Connie indicated, her face shifted first to surprise then sadness. "That one belonged to Coral." She said quietly. "She was my student back during the war."

Connie tore her gaze away from the armor to look at Pearl in surprise. Steven was also shocked while Garnet remained impassive, knowing the story. None of them spoke as Pearl continued.

"She wasn't very strong or powerful and she tended to get anxious around big crowds but she was smart, brave and determined, always eager to prove herself. In fact, you and her were very similar, Connie." She smiled briefly as she remembered but it didn't last long. "She got shattered during the war and I couldn't do anything about it." Pearl weep silently as Garnet came over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder with Steven and Connie hugging her.

Eventually, Pearl calmed down and gave them a grateful look. She then reached into the cabinet and took out Coral's armor, kneeling before Connie as she presented it to the girl.

"I think Coral would have wanted her armor to be worn by another skilled swordfighter."

Connie was once again surprised, this time because her teacher was willing to give her something that had belonged to her former apprentice. But as her gaze meet Pearl's, she saw pride and faith reflected in them and realized that Pearl believed in her being worthy of it.

"It would be an honor."

* * *

 **This chapter was longer originally but I decided to leave the rest for chapter four. At least we now know what Black Spinel looks like (I'll be making a picture of her soon). Connie's dad owning a gun was an idea I had for a while since he's supposed to be a security guard. I came up with the crystalinite because I always thought that Rose's sword was made of something not from Earth and the Crystal Armor as I call it was something I had in my mind for a while. Coral is a Gem I came up at the moment because I needed an owner for the armor Connie got and I thought making her Pearl's former apprentice was a cool backstory. Anyway, chapter four might be up soon so in the meantime read, review favorite and follow!**


	4. Stalking Shadow

**Another chapter in less than a day? I would say a record but this was part of chapter three before I decoded to make them separated chapters, so I had most of it planned out already. I'm currently planning out chapter five so that one might be ready soon as well. Note that as today June 18** **th** **we get start getting new episodes of** _ **Steven Universe**_ **so this fic will begin diverging from canon as new things are revealed.**

* * *

It was a few hours later when Lion brought them back to the Temple. They had acquired a great number of weapons at Rose's Armory, which Pearl stored inside her Gem. Connie was wearing her new armor as they exited the portal and got off the pink beast.

"I wonder if Amethyst, Peridot and Lapis are back from the barn yet," wondered Steven as they climbed the stairs.

"Hopefully they didn't run into trouble," said Pearl, a tad worried. She really hoped that a Unit hadn't ambushed them on the way.

"They didn't," said Garnet confidently and everyone relaxed because they knew Garnet spoke facts.

They entered to find the former Homeworld duo on the couch and Amethyst raiding the fridge.

"We're back!" called Steven cheerfully.

"Yo!" called Amethyst as she finished making what was supposed to be a sandwich but had many non-food items in it and eating it whole.

"Hi, Steven," smiled Lapis, looking up from where she was watching Peridot work. The small technician spared a glance up from her project to address them.

"Good, you are back. I finished converting the blaster into a portable weapon." She motioned to the blaster sitting on the coffee table. Peridot had apparently modified it to be strapped on someone's arm and be easy to carry. "I also attached 'wheels' to the Light Cannons to make them easier to move."

"Good job, Peridot," congratulated Garnet.

Pearl noticed what the green Gem was working on. "Is that one of your old Robonoids?"

"Indeed," she conformed, returning to her work. "On the way back I got an idea but I needed some of my technology and Amethyst told me you still had the Robonoids I left on the Galaxy warp. If I make the right adjustments to the programing, this Robonoid should alert us of incoming Units and indicate their location."

"That would be useful," said Garnet. "Knowing if any robots are coming will give us time to prepare a defense with what we brought from Rose's Armory."

Pearl nodded in agreement. "That combined with the blaster and cannons should give us enough strength to go against even an army of Units."

It was then that Ame-Lapi-Dot noticed the armor worn by Connie and their eyes widened. "Woah! Nice bling you got there, Con."

The girl blushed at the praise but smiled. "Thanks,"

"Is that armor made of crystalinite?" asked Peridot as she put her project aside, walking over to inspect it. "Fascinating, I never heard of such thing existed."

"Rose had various sets of them stored in her armory." Explained Garnet. "We allowed Connie to have one to protect herself.

At that moment, Steven's stomach grumbled and he sheepishly looked at Garnet. "Eh, you guys mind if Connie and I go to the Big Donut for a snack? We haven't eaten lunch yet."

"Alright, but take Lion with you and be careful," warned the fusion.

Steven nodded and called over his furry friend. "Come one, Lion! I'll get some Lion Lickers for you!"

At the mention of his favorite treat, Lion was quick to get up and follow him outside. The children and feline sprinted across the beach, unaware that they were being watched. From beneath the house's deck, a shadow moved as if it was alive and slithered behind a rock.

' _So, they brought out the big weapons and gave crystalinite armor to the human.'_ though Black Spinel as she watched them. ' _That could complicate things'_

Jasper had reported to her everything she knew about the rebels but only a few of that information had been useful. She already knew about the renegade and the fusion and Jasper didn't know anything about the runt or the human. The only mildly interesting fact she had provided was that Lazuli used to be imprisoned in a mirror and that the human-like was apparently known as Steven. At this lack of any useful information, Spinel had travelled to their base and spy on them. So far it had proven to be a success.

' _I need to learn more about them,'_ with that thought, Spinel began to tail them.

 **The Big Donut**

Sadie looked up from the counter Steven burst followed by his friend Connie and his pink lion. She raised an eyebrow at Connie's armor but didn't think much about it. "Hi, Steven, hi Connie, what can I get you today?"

"Hi Sadie!" Steven said back cheerfully and began ordering. "We would like Big Donut Dozen with two chocolate, two sprinkles, four glazed-"

"I would like two cinnamon donuts." added Connie.

"Two cinnamon donuts," he continued without missing a beat. "Two cream-filled ones and two Lion Lickers, please."

"That'll be $11.95 for everything; do I put it on your tab?"

"Sure."

"Lars!" Sadie called her co-worker. "Come help me prepare Steven's order!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Lars came out of the backroom, grumbling and immediately noticed Connie's armor. "What's with the costume?"

"Is not a costume, Lars." corrected the Gem boy. "It's a special crystal armor that we got from my Mom's armory. The Gems gave it to Connie because we might soon be attacked by a bunch of robots."

"Ugh, can't you be normal for once, Steven?" the teenager complained as he began placing the selected donuts inside a box then yelped when Sadie smacked him as she retrieved the Lion Lickers. "Hey!"

"Don't be rude, Lars, that's actually sounds really serious." Sadie turned back to Steven. "Do we need to evacuate like we did with the giant hand if they come?" she asked worriedly.

"Maybe but I guess that depends if there's a lot of them. But don't worry, the Crystal Gems will stop them!" he reassured with uttermost confidence.

"Hmmp," harrumphed Lars as he and Sadie finished the order. "Here are your donuts." With that, he returned to the breakroom.

"Awesome, thanks!" The kids settled on one of the tables and Steven opened the Lickers for Lion, the pink cat gobbling them in one go.

As they settled to enjoy their donuts, the door jingled to signify someone new entering. The person was a girl about Connie's age wearing a red hoodie with the front open to reveal a maroon plaid shirt, a black skirt over gray pants and brown boots. She had a light brown complexion and slate gray eyes. Her hair was dark brown streaked with white, tied into a braid with bangs falling over her forehead though it was difficult to see since her hood was up.

The girl was momentarily startled when she saw Lion but seeing that he didn't appear dangerous, she calmed down. She headed over the counter where Sadie flashed a friendly smile.

"Hi, welcome to the Big Donut, my name's Sadie. What can I do for you?"

"I would like a strawberry jelly donut, please." The girl's voice was soft though it sounded kinda raspy almost like a growl.

"You're in luck because we have a special offer on jelly donuts today." informed Sadie. "You get to but two jelly donuts at half the price, how does that sound?"

"Great, I'll take it." With that, the girl paid and Sadie got the donuts as Steven and Connie watched.

"Steven, do you know that girl?" whispered Connie as to not be heard.

"No," he shaked his head, whispering back. "I know everyone in Beach City but I've never seen her before. Maybe she's new in town."

"Should we ask?"

"But won't it be rude?"

"You know it _is_ rude to whisper behind other people's back, right?"

Steven and Connie turned around, startled by the girl standing near, looking at them with a raised eyebrow, a donut bag in her hand. The pair blushed in embarrassment at being caught. "Sorry," the chorused.

The girl's slightly annoyed expression shifted into a smile. "It's ok. Mind if I sit?"

The kids shaked their heads and the girl took the seat opposite to them. "My name is Amaranth Capot," she introduced herself as she took a strawberry donut from the bag.

"Nice to meet you, my name's Connie Maheswaran."

"And I'm Steven Universe."

"Nice to meet you," Amaranth then motioned to Lion lying at their feet. "Question, is that lion yours?"

"Yeah, this is Lion!" nodded Steven. "I found him in a dessert and he followed me home. He's magical and can make portals by roaring."

"He's magical?" she sounded really interested in that. "That's pretty cool," she said, biting into her donut.

"I'm magical too on my mom's side," Steven continued.

Amaranth almost chocked on her donut at hearing that. "Cough! You're magical?"

"Yeah." he nodded. "My mom was a Crystal Gem and my dad is a human. Mom gave up her physical form to have me and I got her Gem." He lifted his shirt to reveal his Gem and Amaranth's eyes widened.

"A-Are there more 'Crystal Gems'?"

"Uh, yeah, there's Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot and Lapis," he listed off with his fingers. "There's also Jasper but she's pretty bad and tried to kill us. We protect the Earth from bad Gems who want to destroy it."

"I'm also part of them," explained Connie. "Pearl taught me how to swordfight so that I could help protect the Earth as Steven's knight."

"That is beyond cool," Amaranth smiled again, recovering from her shock. She addressed Connie. "That explains the giant sword and the armor then, since you're a knight."

"Well, yeah but I just got the armor since I need more protection because some Gem sent a robot after us and there might be more."

"A robot?"

The kids nodded and went on to relate the entire story to their new friend as they ate their donuts.

 **A while later**

Spinel watched from the shadows as they exited the building, Steven and Connie waving good-bye to Amaranth as she went her own way. The Shadow Gem once again followed them as they walked back to the Temple. She had been observing them while they ordered their food and listened to their conversation with the hooded human. All her perseverance had paid out as she had discovered something intriguing.

' _So, Rose Quartz gave up her existence to create this hybrid creature. For what purpose could she had done that?'_

The Temple soon came into sight with the now-movable Laser Light Cannons sitting near the steps, the Gems having set them up, no doubt. Spinel looked at them thoughtfully as the children and lion approached the house.

' _Perhaps I could sabotage them while I am here, that shall certainly rid them of an advantage.'_

But she didn't have a chance to try for the moment she got within a few inches from the cannons, the large pink beast reacted. Lion snarled as his ears splayed back, the hairs along his spine standing on end, claws and teeth barred as his eyes glowed with a menacing light.

"Lion, what's wrong?!" asked the boy, startled and confused by his friend's behavior.

 _ **ROAR!**_

Lion's only answer was a thundering sonic roar that struck the space near the cannons, forcing Spinel to slither into view to dodge it.

"What is that!?" Connie exclaimed in shock at seeing the living shadow.

Spinel narrowed her eyes at the children, making them step back from the malice in her gaze. They were thankfully shielded from it when Lion leaped between them and the shadow, staring down at the being with his own piercing gaze. It was Spinel's turn to back away as she gaze into the glowing deeps, a sense of foreboding coursing through her form at the feeling of a familiar presence.

' _No, it can't be!'_ she mentally denied, her body freezing in terror. _'This power I'm feeling, it's her's! But that is not possible; she has been shattered for millennium!'_

"STEVEN!"

The Gems had heard Lion's roar and busted out of the house, battle ready with their weapons and new armor on. Their eyes feel on the cowering shadow and Garnet, Pearl & Lapis gasped in recognition, a deep feeling of dread blooming within them.

The other two full Gems also noticed the shadow and while they realized it was a Gem neither them nor the children could fathom the reactions of the older trio.

Spinel snapped out of her shocked stillness when Lion gave a low growl, now noticing the other Gems near. She decided that it would be wise to leave now and quickly slithered away.

Despite her now being gone, the three oldest Gems had not calmed down with Lapis falling on her butt in shock and Pearl's point hairstyle dropping. Garnet was keeping a better control of herself but even she was shivering in fear. The others looked at them in worry, confused by their state, realizing that they had been terrified by the shadow for some reason.

"It's her!" shrieked Pearl, grabbing fistfuls of her rapidly wilting hair. "Of all Gems, why did it have to be her?!"

" _No, no, please no,"_ pleaded Lapis as she shivered while clutching her head in her hands.

"Guys, what's wrong?!" asked Steven, frantically, not liking how his family was acting.

"Yeah, who was that?" Amethyst wanted to know as she and Peridot looked worriedly at their friends.

Garnet turned her gazed away from where the shadow had disappeared and turned to the younger Gems. "A Gem we hoped to never encounter again."

 **Black Spinel's Ship**

Jasper looked up when she heard Spinel returning. She had been ordered to remain in the ship while the black Gem went to spy on the rebels, leaving Jasper bored out of her mind. She was a Gem of action and staying still with nothing to do didn't sit well for her. Alas, she could not go against her superiors orders, especially since the last time she had done had ended with her stranded on this rock in the first place.

When Spinel entered the control room, the first thing she noticed what that the shadow Gem looked shaken. That was odd since as far as Jasper knew, Black Spinel feared nothing except maybe the wrath of the Diamonds.

"What's the matter with you?" asked the warrior as she approached.

Spinel seemed to remember that the other Gem was here so she composed herself, though a bit of uncertainty remained in her eyes. "That doesn't matter." She clearly didn't want to talk about it. "We are to attack now. The Units will execute an initial assault to weaken them allowing us to strike while they are recovering."

"Did you find something useful on your little trip?" questioned Jasper as she took her seat.

"I most certainly did," answered Spinel as she sent orders for the Units to march towards Beach City. "We shall discuss my findings on the way there." She imputed some commands into the terminal and the ship began to rise into the air.

Spinel sat back on her seat as the ship camouflaged itself from view, going at a moderate but still quick pace. They would arrive just in time to see the battle commence and be ready to step in to deal the final blow.

' _You better be ready, spawn of Rose Quartz,'_ she tough as a devilish smirk crossed her face. _'It doesn't matter if your beast has her power, I'll have you begin for death when you watch all your allies crushed before your eyes.'_

* * *

 **Why was Black Spinel so fearful of Lion? Why did she recognize his power and who is the 'her' she was referring to?**

 **Next up we have some backstory and head cannons. Amaranth Capot belongs to me and while she's a very minor character in this story, she will hopefully have a bigger role in the future. With nothing more to say, I'll be seeing you soon and remember to read, review, follow and favorite on your way out!**


	5. When Killer Bots Attack

**Chapter five is up people and boy did it take me a while to finish it. Anyway, I'll make this short so enjoy!**

* * *

Pearl and Lapis had managed to calm down enough to get back inside but they were still shaking with haunted looks in their eyes. Garnet and Steven sat next to them on the couch with Pearl clinging to Garnet's arm and Lapis holding Steven close. Connie sat on the floor with Lion, the big feline still agitated by the earlier encounter. Amethyst and Peridot sat on the counter with the green Gem returning to work on the Robonoid but still glancing at the others with concern.

Finally tired of the silence, Steven asked the fusion. "Garnet, who was that Gem?" he felt Lapis hug him closer and saw Pearl tightening her grip on Garnet's arm.

Garnet was silent a few minutes, staring into nothingness before sighing wearily. "A very powerful elite Gem from under Yellow Diamond's command." She answered. "Her name is Black Spinel."

Recognition lit Peridot's eyes. "Black Spinel?! That was the Black Spinel?!" her terrified outburst had the others look at her. "I've heard of her reputation, she's the most skilled soldier in Yellow Diamond's court!"

"Indeed she is," agreed Garnet, continuing her explanation. "A rarity among her type due to her color and powers, Black Spinel is known for her brilliant tactics and lack of mercy to her enemies. Her greatest advantage is the power to become a shadow, making her difficult to hit and nearly impossible to counter when she struck. This, along with the number of Gems she killed, earned her the nickname **Death's Shadow**."

Steven, Connie and Amethyst's eyes widened in shock, unease growing within them as they realized that the black Gem could had easily killed them had she had not retreated. Sniffling drew their attention back to Pearl who had tears streaming down their eyes.

"Pearl?" asked Steven, worriedly.

The white Gem continued to silently cry but she looked up at Steven. "My student, Coral, was one of those shattered by Black Spinel. I couldn't do anything but watch as her Gem was crushed into dust." She buried her face into Garnet's chest as the fusion tried to comfort her.

This revelation startled the other Gems except Garnet. Connie was especially shocked since she had just received Coral's armor earlier that day. Now, she found out that they were against the very Gem who had killed Coral and so many others. Connie began to panic, dreading the thought of going against this Gem.

"We lost so many good friends and comrades to her." continued Garnet. "For a while, it looked that she would single-handedly destroy the rebellion but lucky for us, she made the mistake of going after Rose."

"Wait, Mom fought her?"

Garnet nodded. "Rose was an extraordinary warrior in her own right and managed to get the upper-hand on Black Spinel, poofing her, though her Gem was retrieved before we could contain her." Behind her shades, her gaze turned grim. "And now she's back to finish what she started."

"We can beat her, guys!" declared Steven.

"Are you out of your mind?" screeched Peridot. "This is _Black Spinel_ we're dealing with!"

"Mom beat her."

"She _barely_ managed to do it!" protested Pearl. "You don't even have half the strength she had!" Pearl immediately regretted her words.

Steven was slightly hurt by Pearl's words but he knew she was scared; they all were. This was a Gem what could easily kill all of them in seconds. Steven was aware that he was way out of his league but despite it, he knew that they couldn't stand there and wait to be killed. That just wasn't how the Crystal Gems were."

"Guys, I know the odd are against us and it won't be easy but we're not alone," he began reciting. "We are the Crystal Gems, we always save the day and if you think we can't, we'll always find a way."

His words burned inside of them in a way that reminded Garnet and Pearl of the speeches Rose gave her troops before a battle. And while the others had no experience with Rose's way with words, they still felt a great sense of determination igniting within them.

Steven smiled as everyone stood up and wore looks of determination, ready to take on what was thrown at them.

Well, almost everyone.

He noticed that Lapis still had an unsure expression, once again hugging her legs as to protect herself. The blue Gem clearly didn't share the certainty of the others.

"Lapis?"

"Steven, I'm sorry but I can't! This is not like keeping Jasper trapped under the ocean. Not even my power is strong enough to defeat a Gem like her." She buried her face into her knees. "I'm sorry but I'm not strong enough."

"Lapis, you're not weak, you're one of the strongest people I know! I believe in you!" his words didn't seem to be having an effect, thought as Lapis just held herself tighter.

 _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

The high-pitched beeping startled everyone and they turned toward the counter where Peridot's Robonoid sat. The little robot was standing up as a red light on its 'face' flashed in time with the beeps.

"Are more Units coming?" asked Pearl as Peridot made the Robonoid project a Holo-screen, the others crowding round her.

Once her eyes locked on the screen, a look of pure horror appeared on Peridot's face. "No, there must be a mistake!"

"What's wrong?" demanded to know Garnet and Peridot moved so that the others could look at the screen. An aerial map of beach City was displayed and they saw a dozens of blinking red dots approaching the boardwalk.

"Is that-?" whispered Pearl in terror before another noise interrupted her.

 _Brrrr! Brrrr!_

Steven took his vibrating phone out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello?"

" _Steven!"_

"Dad, what's wrong?"

" _Tell the Gems to come to the boardwalk, quick!"_

"Wh-Why? What's happening, Dad?" Steven could hear the panic in Greg's voice and despite the phone not being on speaker, the others also heard him.

" _There's not time, just get over here fast!"_

"Ok, we're coming!" Steven ended the call and turned to the others, their worried looks reflecting their own. As one, they looked at their leader, waiting for her orders.

"Peridot, get the weapons ready while the rest of us will go to the boardwalk and joins us as soon as possible." Everyone nodded in understanding except for Lapis. Garnet looked at her a sighed. "Lapis, I'm not gonna make you fight but I need you to help Peridot move the cannons to the boardwalk and protect her from attacks, can I trust you with that?"

Lapis was a bit shocked by what she was being asked but she thought it over. She and the Crystal Gems weren't truly in friendly terms but they were still giving her the choice to help them and she made up her mind. Even if they weren't her friends, Steven cared for them and Peridot was growing up on her. If she was going to do it, then she'll do it for them.

"You can trust me."

Garnet gave her a subtle smile before her serious face returned. "Gems, to the boardwalk!" The Gems charged out of the Beach House with the children and Lion in tow.

 **Beach City Boardwalk**

The group was quick to arrive at the boardwalk and they gasped at what they saw. An army of GLD Units marched into the boardwalk, hundreds of them walking in tandem with purpose.

"Oh shit!" cursed Amethyst, Pearl too focused on the robots to hear or care.

The robot army had quickly gathered the attention of everyone on the boardwalk and they all wisely remained back, smart enough to realize the danger. Well, all except for a certain bespectacled Fryman with an obsession with snake people.

"Ronaldo, get back here!" screamed Mr. Fryman to his older son as he and Peedee cowered behind their shop's counter. "Those things are dangerous!"

"We're now witnessing a momentous event!" exclaimed a giddy Ronaldo as he filmed the approaching horde of machines, deaf to his father's calls. "An army of robots now marches into beach City, no doubt in the first stage in their plan to enslave humanity. I will now attempt to interview one of them and discover their plans." He began to walk towards the Units, much to the horror of everyone watching.

"Ronaldo, no!" called Steven to no avail.

The Units all stopped as Ronaldo approached them and began addressing the closet robot.

"Greetings, oh powerful mechanical being!" said Ronaldo as he thrust his camera into the Unit's face. "Would you be willing to answer some questions for my 'Keep Beach City Weird' blog?"

The Unit stared at him expressionlessly before turning its right arm into a cannon, pointing it at the suddenly terrified fry boy.

"Ronaldo!" screamed Peedee as he struggled against his father's grip, desperate to charge in to save his brother.

A purple whip flew through the air and wrapped around Ronaldo, pulling him away a second before an energy ball destroyed the ground he was standing on. The teenager grunted as he hit the ground hard, his vision spinning. His vision cleared and he noticed Steven standing over him with a worried expression. "Are you ok, Ronaldo?"

"Uh, yeah I fine-Yikes!" he yelped when Garnet lifted him up by his shirt. He gulped when he saw her face, feeling the intensity of her gaze despite her shades.

"You are now going to hide and stay out of out of way while we deal with these things. Is that clear?" her chilling tone made him gulp again and he nodded. Garnet released him and he hurried to find a hiding place.

"Did you have to be so hard on him?" asked Steven.

"It was for his safety," was all she said. Her gaze was now focused on the mass of Units who were now aware of the Gems' presence. With a silent order from the fusion, all three full Gems summoned their weapons as Steven summoned his shield and Connie drew her sword while Lion glared at the robots with glowing eyes.

 **High above Beach City**

"Good, they have arrived," Black Spinel said as she observed her Holo-screen, the powerful zoom of the ship's external cameras allowing her and Jasper to observe what was happening in great detail. The patella ship hovered above the small human settlement; it's built in camouflage system allowing them to remain undetected.

"Even that hybrid, the beast and the human," snarled Jasper, glaring at the screen. She couldn't help but feel disgusted as she recalled what Spinel had told her. "How could Rose ever think about giving her form to create that disgusting _thing_? It is even more of an abomination than the permafusion!"

Black Spinel stayed silent as Jasper seethed, observing the standoff between the Crystal Gems and the army of GLD Units. She mostly focused on the pink beast beside the hybrid and she felt anger coursing through her as she relieved their confrontation.

' _I do not know why or how the beast possesses that power but it does not matter, I shall have my revenge. This hybrid may not be Rose Quartz but simply having her Gem is reason enough for me to make him pay in her place.'_

With a mask of calmness, Spinel lifted her hand to a floating panel and sent a single command to the Units.

 _Attack_

 **Back at the boardwalk**

The robots' eyes flashed as they received their orders and as one charged toward the Crystal Gems, a few of them turning their arms into weapons in the process. Quickly, they closed the distance separating them from their targets, which held their positions as the robotic army drew near.

"Gems, attack!" the group acted a second after Garnet's command, leaping high in the air over the robots' heads (with Steven holding Connie). At the height of their leap, they fired their long-ranged attacks at the mass of machines, destroying a good number of them. They dropped like shooting stars into the midst of killer machines, forming a circle as the Units tightened around them.

Things soon evolved into chaos.

Two Units converted their arms into morning stars and swung them at Garnet, the fusion easily dodging and ducking their swings. She caught one of the weapons with her gauntlet and yanked the mechanical arm out of it socket, using the severed limb bash in the head of the other robot. As that Unit collapsed, the other jumped at Garnet, undeterred by the lack of an arm, Still, Garnet was at advantage and blocked a punch with her left arm guard, using her right fist to strike the Unit's chest. The Unit sparked and twitched from the damage to its power source, soon joining its companion on the ground.

* * *

Amethyst was surrounded from all sides by four Units; the first had blade-arms, the second arm cannons, the third Warhammer-arms and the fourth's hands sparked with electricity. The quartz ducked a swing as a Warhammer smashed into the boards then back-flipped to avoid a cannon shot. Sparky-Hands tried to shock her but Amethyst side-stepped the punch, grabbed its arm and threw it into Hammer-Hands who was sneaking behind her, both Units getting shocked until exploding. Amethyst leap-dodged another laser ball and snapped her whip at Cannon-Arms, clean cutting the machine in half.

Blade-Arms was now the only one standing, its emotionless, red eyes locking with Amethyst's dark ones, both waiting for the other to attack. The Unit made the first move and charged at high speeds towards Amethyst, its blades raised in hopes of slicing the Gem in two. Amethyst sidestepped and ducked around its swings until the Unit tripped her, making her fall on her back. Raising a blade high, the Unit stabbed down towards Amethyst's head but at the last second, the Gem shifted her body so the blade struck the ground instead.

The proximity to the robot's face allowed Amethyst to stretch her arms and grab its head, ripping it out of its neck, its body collapsing on top of Amethyst and twitched before lying still. Amethyst pushed the headless robotic body of her and stood up, running back into the fray.

* * *

Pearl danced and twirled around a group of Units, swiftly stabbing their chests or their heads with her spear. One managed to dodge the stab and knock the spear out of Pearl's hand the sweep the white Gem's legs from under her with a low kick, then aimed its cannon arm at Pearl's chest. At the last second Pearl kicked t the cannon, diverting the blast to the side and flipped back to her feet while summoning a sword from her Gem. In one swift move, Pearl buried the sword deep into the Unit's head, the robot falling backwards and laying still.

* * *

Steven, Connie and Lion were faring quite well as they used their respective skills against the Units. Steven bashed and threw his shield, crushing the robots' head or slicing their bodies in half; Connie parried and thrust with her sword, her crystalinite armor protecting her from the worst hits as she sliced Units left and right. For his part, Lion pounced and sliced at any Unit in his reach, sinking his teeth into their robotic skin to rip them apart.

An Unit snuck up behind Connie, turning its arm into a blade and bringing it down to stab the unsuspecting girl.

 _CLANK!_

Connie a turned around, startled to see Steven using his shield to block an Unit's blade-arm. Quickly pushing her surprise aside, Connie quickly decapitated the robot with one swing of her sword.

 _RING! RING!_

Connie jumped slightly when her phone rang and quickly checked the caller ID to see that it was her mother. With a slight hint of hesitation she answered it.

"Mom, this is not a good moment!" she said frantically, dodging a few attacks and counting on Steven to block the rest.

" _Why? What's happening out there?'_ Dr. Maheswaran had detected the panic in Connie's voice and knew something bad was happening.

"Duck!" Steven's warning had Connie drop to the floor as another bladed Unit tried to slice her.

"A bunch of robots are attacking the boardwalk! Call you later!"

" _What? Connie-"_ Connie ended the call and spun around to block a sneak attack and held the robot back as Steven came from behind it and smashed its head with his shield.

 **At the ship**

"How is it that they are winning?" snarled Jasper. "They could barely strike a single Unit, how is that a whole army can't crush them?"

Black Spinel didn't seem as worried as Jasper, still having that superior smirk. "It is quite simple, Jasper," she spoke with her chilling voice. "Unlike Unit XJ10, these have been specifically ordered to not use their full battle capacity."

"WHAT!" bellowed Jasper, rounding on Spinel. "You ordered them to hold back? Why? We could easily destroy them in seconds!"

"Hmm, yes, we could," she appeared to ponder. "But won't you rather do it with your own hands?" she smirked as realization dawned on Jasper. "Besides, I want to capture the hybrid alive. Even if they manage to defeat all of them, they would have used up a great amount of energy, rendering them vulnerable." her smirk intensified. "That will be the moment we strike."

"I like how you think," Jasper's smirk mirrored Black Spinel. She then though of something. "What are you going to do with that freak, anyway?"

"Oh, I plan to study it and learn how it functions, given that an hybrid of Gem and organic life is unheard of." She replied calmly. "The Empire could benefit from what I discover and even if they are not interested, I would still find amusement in torturing it, provided it survives my testing." Her chuckle sent shivers up Jasper's metaphorical spine. Other than her reputation on the battlefield, Black Spinel was also known for her sadistic torture methods. Jasper wouldn't wish that even on her worst enemy, so she couldn't help but feel a bit of pity for the hybrid.

 **With the Crystal Gems**

Despite initially crushing the Units without problem, the odds soon turned against the gems as the sheer number of robots began to get the upper hand. After barely defeating a group of five Units, Garnet turned to see that Pearl and Amethyst had been pushed back to back with a dozen robots surrounding them. With a quick glimpse of the future, Garnet knew what they had to do. "Pearl, Amethyst!" she called getting their attention. "You need to synchronize!"

Her teammates' eyes widened at her words but quickly nodded seriously and joined their hands. There wasn't time for even a few dance steps so they willed themselves to fuse based solely on the strength of their friendship, thanking the stars for their recently improved relationship. A bright flash of light had the Units step back as if in shock then quickly faded to reveal the newly formed Opal, the four-armed fusion shooting a confident smirk at the now much smaller robots.

 **Jasper and Spinel**

"Unbelievable!" Spinel was beginning to get annoyed by Jasper's shouting. "Doesn't that runt have any sense of dignity? Fusing with a _Pearl_ of all things."

"Jasper, may I remind you that this is no common Pearl? The Renegade was known to easily defeat seasoned Quartz warriors in seconds so it is unwise to underestimate her." Her attention returned to the Holo-screen. "I for one am curious about what a fusion between her and an undersized Amethyst can do."

Jasper also returned to watching the battle, not admitting she was also curious of what this fusion could do.

* * *

Recovering from their temporary hesitation, the Units leaped at Opal as to tackle the fusion with their combined strength. Though Opal stumbled back slightly, she remained upright and performed a ballet pirouette, spinning faster and faster, the robots flying of her from the huge centrifugal force.

Coming to a stop, Opal watched as the machines quickly recovered and charged at her again. In seconds, she summoned Amethyst and Pearl's weapons, quickly forming her bow. Drawing the string back, a light arrow formed and fired it. The arrow split into many projectiles, each one homing into a robot and blowing them up as they struck.

"Nice," smirked Garnet but she failed to sense an robot sneaking up behind her and striking her with a Warhammer. She was sent flying into a wall, cracking it from the impact. The attack didn't really hurt but she was slightly disoriented, giving the Unit the chance to approach her.

"Oof!" grunted Garnet as the Unit struck her in the stomach with its fist, proceeding to punch her in the face, cracking her shades in half. Her exposed red eye glared at the robot as it shifted its hand into an axe and prepared to bring it down on her head.

 _Pew pew!_

The robot's head was obliterated by a laser beam shot from the left. Peridot stood a few feet away with the laser gun strapped to her arm, giving Garnet a cocky grin. "Looks like I've arrived just in time!" she declared proudly.

"Good job, Peridot," the fusion smiled. "You got the Light Cannons ready?"

Peridot nodded. "Affirmative. I've set them up at the edge of the 'boardwalk' with Lazuli's assistance before she flew off."

"Don't worry about her, we need to get the cannons," She stood up but their way was blocked by six Units. "This things are starting to annoy me," Garnet growled as she summoned her gauntlets and addressed Peridot. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way through. Ready?"

Peridot had a scared expression as she looked at the Units but she charged up her blaster and declared. "I'm ready."

The fusion nodded and shifted her attention back to the robots. "Alright, go!" And with twin battle cries, the two charged their attackers and tried to cut a path with punches and shots.

Things had taken a turn for the worst for Lion and the children. One of the morning star-wielding bots had managed to hit Lion under the chin, making the large cat flip head over teakettle and land hard into the ground.

"Lion!" called Steven to his friend but the robot heard him and shifted its focus on him and Connie. It advanced menacingly towards them, joined by others and they all shifted their arms into weapons.

The two kids crouched into battles stances and prepared to fight them off. Before anyone could make a move, the Mr. Universe van suddenly appeared and ran over the majority of the machines, some scattered on the ground as scrap piles. The van screeched to a stop near the kids and out jumped Greg Universe armed with a waffle iron, wearing armor that looked like it was made from pots and pans.

"That's right!" he yelled at the scattered robotic parts, waving his waffle iron at them. "Nobody can mess with the Universe!"

"Dad!"

"Mister Universe!"

"Steven, Connie!" Greg threw his arms around his son in a big hug though Steven was a bit uncomfortable with all the pots he was wearing.

 _CRUNCH! CRASH! CRASH! CRUNCH!_

"Not the van!" wailed Greg as the still-standing Units crushed his van.

Once they took care of the van, they turned to resume their previous assault but at that moment another vehicle rounded the corner of Beach City Fries. The passenger side's window opened, allowing Doug Maheswaran to hand his upper body out and aim his gun at the Units.

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_

The bullets flew through the air, hitting the robots either on the chest or head. The car swerved to a stop and the Maheswarans hopped out to rush toward their daughter.

"Connie!"

"Mom, Dad!" The two happily embraced their daughter, glad that she was alright.

Unfortunately, the loving family moment didn't last as Garnet crashed next to them with Peridot in her arms, the former's blaster smoking. They both looked worse for wear with their torn clothing and messed up hair. A moment later, a bruised up Opal and a limping Lion joined them, the fusion separating back into Pearl and Amethyst, both looking no better than the others.

"GUYS!" exclaimed Steven, running up to them as Garnet struggled to stand up.

"Grr, we couldn't get to the cannons." Garnet growled. "There's too many of them."

The Units still standing marched towards the group, the arms of all of them either turned into a weapon or crackling with electricity. Their numbers reached more than a fifty, much less than half of the original army, but they still outnumbered the Gems.

The Gems, humans and lion moved close together as the machines approached. The Maheswarans and Greg stood next to their respective children, Greg holding his waffle iron and Doug his gun. The children held hands as Steven summoned his shield and Connie held up her sword, Lion standing protectively next to Steven despite his injuries and growling. Amethyst held a terrified Peridot close and Pearl clung to Garnet's arm in fear as the fusion glared at the approaching Units. No matter what, they would all stand together to the end.

An enormous shadow suddenly covered the boardwalk as something of immense proportions blocked the sunlight. Everyone, Gems, humans and robots alike, turned to see what it was. A huge wall of water had risen out of the ocean and was now completely still, letting them all know it was no typical wave. Standing at the very top with her water wings spread was Lapis Lazuli, glaring down at the Units.

"Lapis!" called Steven happily with stars on his eyes as everyone else just gaped in shock.

Without saying any words, Lapis lifted up her arms slightly and sharply thrust them down. The water bent to her will and hundreds of medium-sized water hands came out of the water wall. The water hands grabbed the Units and either crushed them or tore them apart limb by limb. Robotic parts rained down on the boardwalk until all the robots were destroyed. Lapis returned the water well to the ocean and flew down towards the others.

"Lapis!" Steven hug-tackled her as so as she landed. "You saved us!"

Lapis smiled and returned his hug. "Well, I couldn't let my Beach Summer Fun Buddy die, could I?"

Hehe, nope!" They hugged again.

 **Jasper and Spinel**

"That cloddy Lazuli!" snarled Jasper, gritting her teeth.

"Enough!" ordered Black Spinel. "We act now." She pressed her control panel to deactivate the ship's camouflage.

 **Crystal Gems**

"What is that thing?!" exclaimed a frantic Priyanka, pointing up. A large section of the sky was rippling like water and before their eyes, the dark patella-shaped ship revealed itself.

Everyone looked up with nervousness and fear as the ship descended to land on the beach. All except Garnet, who had a serious expression in her face, her visible eyes narrowing as it followed the ship's movement. Once the ship had landed, she whispered two words that sent shivers down all their spines.

"She's here."

* * *

 **Geez, this thing took at least ten pages on Word without the author notes! This has to be my longest chapter yet. I originally planned for this chapter to be only about some of my fanon things but I couldn't get it to look right so I fused the first part with my original chapter six to give you this. Hope you liked the battle and how I described it! Next chapter Black Spinel introduces herself to the Gems, Lapis and Peridot once again face with Jasper and some other stuff will happen. It will be intense! Anyway, that's all! Remember to read the chapters as they appear, review to share your thoughts, favorite if you like the story and follow so you don't miss new chapters.**


	6. Shadow of Death

**Hello, everybody! Sorry for the long wait but I was busy with college and I can't fail or my parents will disown me! I loved just loved 'Gem Harvest' and I think it was one of the funniest and most heartwarming episodes yet. Anyway, here's the chapter, hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

The revealed Gemship slowly descended to the ground, its great mass partially blocking the sunlight and. Along with the dark storm clouds, casting an ominous shadow over the city. The citizens of Beach City that had come outside after the robot attack hastily re-entered, intimidated by the imposing ship. The only ones remaining were the Crystal Gems and their human allies, all standing firm and serious as the ship touched ground, waiting for who was inside to emerge. Everything was deadly silent around them except for the echoing crash of the waves, though if this was occurring naturally or by a certain water Gem's influence was uncertain.

There were a few seconds of stilled silence before a panel on the ship's side opened with a hiss. A darkened figure stood on the opened doorway, its frame huge and muscular. The figure finally stepped into the light and they all gasped when they saw who it was.

"Jasper?!" yelped Lapis, saying what was in everyone's mind.

"Hello, Lazuli," Greeted Jasper, giving her signature terrifying grin as she leaped onto the beach.

Steven, Connie and the Crystal Gems all looked shocked for a moment before shifting into battle stances while Lion bared his teeth and growled. Greg and the Maheswarans looked at Jasper nervously despite never having seen her personally but they had heard their children's stories about her. Peridot for her part had been cowering behind Garnet ever since the ship landed.

Lapis snapped out of her terrified shock enough to ask. "W-Why are you here?"

"I'm here to finally crush these Crystal Gems but mostly to find _you_." She pointed at Lapis as a powerful wave crash accentuated her words.

"M-me?" whispered Lapis in horror as Jasper approached her. Before the stripped Gem could come closer, Steven jumped in her way, his shield on hand to protect Lapis.

"She doesn't want anything to do with you!" he shouted giving Jasper a fierce glare so uncharacteristic of him. Greg tried to step forward to pull his son back but was held back by the Maheswarans, Garnet doing the same with Pearl and Amethyst.

"Stay out of this, Rose Quartz!" growled Jasper. "This is between me and her!"

Steven didn't budge. "Lapis is my friend, I couldn't protect her from you before but I can now." His stance became firmer along with his voice. Everyone else was very surprised and impressed by his courage.

Jasper stared down at Steven before bursting out laughing. "You're pointing that shield the wrong way, Rose. _She's_ the one you should be afraid of!" she pointed to a surprised Lapis.

"That's not true!" shot back Lapis.

"You can't lie to me. I've seen what you're capable of. I thought I was a brute, but you... you're a monster."

"I ..." Lapis was lost for words, mostly because she agreed with what Jasper said. The others looked equally uneasy, especially Peridot and the humans.

The only one who wasn't disturbed was Steven, in fact, the hybrid boy looked absolutely livid at the commentaries said to his friend. "That's not true!" he shouted. "Lapis made a mistake and she knows that it was wrong! A real monster can't feel bad about doing horrible things!"

If that was intended to impress Jasper, it failed completely. The Quartz warrior just glared at Steven before swiping at him with her fist. Luckily, Steven's shield protected him but he was sent back into the others, Pearl catching them as they feel backwards.

"Steven!" Lapis tried to get to her friend but Jasper grabbed her by the arm, restricting her movements. The other Gems wanted to aid her but they were held back by Garnet, her face a stoic visage except for her frown.

As Lapis struggled in Jasper's grip, the orange Gem claps her hands around Lapis'... and kneels before her.

"Let's be Malachite again."

Thunder crashed in the sky above, punctuating Jasper's words as everyone feel silent. Lapis was speechless for a moment before asking. "Why... would you want that?"

"I was wrong about fusion. You made me understand! Malachite was bigger and stronger than both of us! We could fly!" A blissful expression crossed the warrior's face as she recalled the feeling of power that she possessed as Malachite.

The Crystal Gems exchanged worried looks, all realizing that Jasper had become obsessed with fusion in a bad way.

"I was terrible to you." said Lapis, still trying to understand Jasper's change of mood. I liked taking everything out on you. I needed to. I-I hated you. It was bad!"

"I'll be better this time." pleaded the huge warrior, letting go of Lapis' hand. "I've changed. You changed me. I'm the only one who can handle your kind of power." Lapis backs away as Jasper approaches her. "Together, we'll be unstoppable!"

Lapis appears to consider it, looking back at the others to see their worried looks, especially Steven's. Seeing his despaired look, Lapis made up her mind and uttered a single word to Jasper. "No."

The large Gem looked baffled as if she didn't understand what Lapis said. "What?"

"What we had wasn't healthy." stated the Water Gem with a calm, hard voice. "I never want to feel what I felt with you. Never again! So just go."

Jasper still couldn't believe that Lapis was refusing her offer. "Lapis! She pleaded again.

"She said, "No!" snapped Steven. "Leave her alone!"

Steven's voice only succeeded in igniting Jasper's ire and she turned toward him, murder shinning in her eyes. "This is your fault." She growled, summoning her helmet and charging toward the boy. "I'll shatter you!"

Everyone gasps as Jasper charged and the Crystal Gems placed themselves in front of Steven, ready to protect him. But it wasn't necessary for at that moment a huge fist made of water emerged from the ocean and punched Jasper hard.

"Eeuugh!" grunted the Quartz as she was sent flying far away into the ocean, disappearing into the distance as a twinkle shone in the cloudy sky.

The Gems/Humans/Lion all stared at Lapis as the blue Gem returned the water to its place. "Steven, are you ok?" she asked in concern.

"Y-Yeah," he nodded a bit shakily but it was gone soon as stars appeared in his eyes. "That was so awesome Lapis!"

Lapis blushed at the praise but before she could say anything, another voice spoke.

"I agree that it was quite the display of power, though I wish you hadn't sent the Jasper flying so far, she wasn't easy to find the first time."

The dark and cold voice had everyone turning toward the ship's doorway again to see a new Gem standing on the threshold. She was as tall as Garnet, garbed in dark gray clothing (her cape had been taken off), colored pitch-black from head to toe except for her piercing golden eyes. All the Crystal Gems and Connie knew immediately who she was while the other humans were confused though they guessed she was bad news.

Black Spinel calmly walked out of her ship and swept her golden eyes over those before her, smirking when most of them avoided making eye contact. Her gaze finally settled on the small hybrid, who momentarily flinched but hardened his gaze to glare her in the eye.

This small display of courage surprised Spinel as not many Gems could accomplish it. She began chuckling surprising everyone, even her accomplice. She stopped chuckling after a moment and addressed Steven.

"I see you still retain Rose Quartz's bravery, hybrid," Her tone was of amusement but there was something akin to admiration as well. Steven, meanwhile, wasn't shocked that she that he was half Gem.

"So, you _were_ following us." It wasn't a question but a statement.

"I was," Spinel didn't attempt to deny it. "Knowing everything about your enemy allows you to remain one step ahead. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to cripple you since your beast revealed my presence."

Lion growled loudly at her, his teeth bared in a terrifying snarl as his eyes glowed with a harsh white light. Spinel visibly flinching, taking a step back but she quickly composed herself.

"Of course, any creature possessing _her_ power would be capable of sensing me. Though, I am curious about how you rebels were able to give it that power."

This commentary didn't have the effect she was hoping and expecting. "What are you talking about?" questioned Pearl, raising her spear in a threatening manner. The others wondered the same, their confusion showing more in some than others.

Spinel did not answer her, pondering their disconcerting reactions. _'How can they do not know? Are they lying to keep the truth hidden?'_ "I do not need to answer you. You won't be alive long enough for it to be useful."

None present misunderstood the meaning of her words and they all took battle stance, prepared to fight (except Peridot who had remained hidden behind Garnet, unnoticed). Spinel only watched in slight disinterest, not looking worried at all.

"Are you certain you wish to fight me?" Spinel asked them. "You are all tired out after battling my Units and even if you were at full strength, my power greatly surpasses yours. Give up now and your deaths will be quick and painless." She offered.

"Never!" snapped Garnet, a crack of lighting flashing above. "The Crystal Gems have sworn to protect Earth and we're not giving up without a fight!"

"Is that so? Very well," smirked Spinel, chuckling slightly. "As a final act of courtesy, I'll allow your human allies to leave. Killing them would be messy and I'm not interested in soiling myself with their remains."

"I'm staying," stated Connie firmly.

"What?!" exclaimed her parents in horror. "Connie no, it's too dangerous!" begged her mother, grabbing her shoulders.

But Connie had made up her mind. "Mom, I have to do this. You, Dad and Mr. Universe need to leave so you can be safe." Her tone was one that broke no argument and Priyanka realized that there was nothing she could do but hug her daughter firmly, her husband joining in. "Be careful." She whispered, both she and her husband tearing up.

"I will," Connie whispered back, tears in her eyes as well.

Doug looked at Steven, who was also being hugged by his father, and said. "Keep my daughter safe, Steven."

Steven nodded and let go of his father's embrace as Greg and the Maheswarans hurried out of the beach and into the Big Donut.

"Hmp, humans are so full of useless sentimentalities." Commented Spinel and she addressed Connie. "So, you chose to stay, human? You do realize that you have effectively forfeited your existence.

"I'm Steven's loyal Knight and I'm not leaving his side." Connie stated fearlessly, drawing Rose Quartz's sword from its scabbard and shifting into a fighting stance, glaring at Spinel.

"Very well," conceded the dark Gem. "THEN YOU'LL JOIN HIM IN DEATH!" Black Spinel's Gem glowed with a dark brightness as her shadow stretched and expanded, gliding toward the Crystal Gems.

The Crystal Gems braced themselves but the living shadow did not attack, instead it circled them in a wide perimeter. Once it had them surrounded, the shadow stretched high above them to create a huge dome of shadows, trapping the Gems inside. Those who were watching from the safety of the buildings gasped in fright, Greg and the Maheswarans being greatly worried for their children's safety.

 **Within the Shadow Dome**

Despite being surrounded by shadows, those inside the dome found that they could see perfectly, something that the children rationalized as being magic. Everyone stood back to back in a tight circle (with Peridot trembling in the center) all their eyes focused on the dark mass around them. Not taking her triple gaze pf it, Garnet addressed her teammates. "Stay together, everyone." She ordered. "We don't know her next move and Spinel's energy is blocking my future vision so don't lose sight of anyone."

Unfortunately, things would not go as planned for at that moment shadow tentacles shot out of the large mass and launched at them. Despite their best efforts, everyone soon found themselves on their own, separated from each other by s mass of shadowy tendrils.

* * *

"Grrr!" Amethyst growled as she cracked her whip left and right at the approaching tendrils, making them recoil. One tried to sneak up from behind but Amethyst was faster, grabbing it in her fist and squeezing it until in feel apart. Two more wrapped around her wrists but the purple quartz did a Spin Dash and broke free then rolled at high speeds into the mass, dissolving all the tentacles around her. "Oh yeah!" she cheered, pimping her fist into the air. "Don't mess with Amethyst!" the purple Gem then shapeshifted into her Purple Puma form and began wrestling with the tentacles.

* * *

Pearl's spear was a blur as she twirled and pirouetted, slashing any approaching tentacles like weeds in a garden. She pointed her weapon at a large group and fired a series of laser shots that destroyed the shadowy appendages. The white Gem was suddenly sweep of her feet as another tendril grabbed her ankle and hoisted her up into the air. Before something else could happen, Pearl displayed an impressive flexibility and twisted to cut the shadow tentacle just above where it held her ankle, flipping as she fell to land on her feet. The white Knight took a moment to bask in the personal pride she felt before continuing to 'weed' the evil tendrils.

* * *

Even though her future vision was disabled, Garnet's fighting instincts were as sharp as ever as she punched tendrils left and right. Lifting her heavy gauntlets high over her head, the fusion Gem brought them down hard into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that forced the tentacles surrounding her to back up. Next, Garnet focused into herself and called upon Ruby's power to create a ring of fire that spread out from her, the flames burning the tentacles with their heat and light. Next, she called Sapphire's ice power and feeling the cold magic building up, Garnet shot beams of ice from her Gems that trapped the tendrils in frozen prisons. Finally, Garnet concentrated on her own power and it slowly to build within her until electricity sparked through her form. "Grraaahhh!" With a mighty cry, Garnet released the concentrated power into a huge shockwave of lighting that zapped the frozen tentacles and obliterated them. Garnet panted slightly from the use of her powers but managed a small grin.

* * *

Just like Garnet's future vision was blacked by Spinel's power, Lapis found that her hydrokinesis was similarly blocked so couldn't call upon the ocean's power to help her. Still, Lapis was not about to stay defenseless so she rose, dived and looped in the air around the tendrils, dodging every attempt of grabbing her. If any tentacle managed to get too close to the blue Gem, it would find itself being sliced by a blade made out of the water provided by Lapis' wings. A particularly large tentacle shot through the air at high speeds towards Lapis but the Ocean Gem was prepared. Just as the giant tentacle was about to grab her, Lapis transformed her wings into a pair of giant swords and swung them at the approaching tendril. The water blades struck the tentacle's tip and sliced it down the middle as the gravity pulling Lapis down allowed the swords to cut the tentacle in half. Just before hitting the ground, Lapis shifted the water blades back into her water wings and stopped her free fall with a single flap, touching down gently on the sand.

* * *

Peridot was curled up in a fetal position, trembling in terror as the dark tendrils slithered around her, trapping her but curiously, never trying to attack her. It was as if the tentacles thought she wasn't a threat and didn't want to bother with fighting her. A part of Peridot's mind that wasn't consumed by fear rationalized that Spinel figured she was an Era Two Gem without standard Gem powers so she did not want to waste power on her, instead concentrating it on the Gems that _could_ fight back. Even thought she could see the logical side of it, Peridot's prideful side was offended that Spinel didn't consider her enough of a threat to grant her the courtesy of a fight.

* * *

Everygem (minus Peridot) held their own well enough against the onslaught of shadow tentacles, the number of tendrils slowly diminishing while the rest were being driven back. It looked like the Crystal Gems might win this battle after all but unfortunately, Black Spinel was not about to allow that. Unknown to the Crystal Gems, the dark fiend was hidden among the tendrils in shadow form, watching their every action, unseen by all. Using her psychic connection with the shadows, Spinel had been observing each Crystal Gem's battle against her shadow tendrils. The moment she saw that the Gems were getting the upper hand, that's when she took action.

Amethyst-as-Purple Puma was focused on ripping up tentacles so she never saw the single shadow slithering towards. A chill went up her illusionary spine as she felt the malevolent presence rising up behind her. Amethyst hastily spun around but she wasn't quick enough and she gave a pained gasp as a dark short blade stabbed through her chest, millimeters below her Gem. Her shrunken eyes had time to lock with Spinel's golden ones before Amethyst's form dissipated in a cloud of smoke, her Gem falling into a gloved, open palm.

* * *

Pearl heard the _poofing_ sound of one of her comrades being defeated and her grip on her spear tightened as dread filled her form. Her blue eyes flickered back and forth between the remaining group of tentacles, which had strangely stopped attacking and were now wriggling in place, as if waiting. Her sharp gaze caught movement from her side, her quick reflexes moving her spear to block the knife stab aimed at her side. Pearl knocked the knife away but left herself open and was unprepared when Spinel's other arm darted forward to stab a second knife into Pearl's stomach, the white Gem giving a small cry. Pearl had a brief flashback of her Hologram stabbing her in a similar way before she poofed and her Gem was caught by Spinel.

* * *

Lapis continued to dodge tentacles but she was too focused on that to notice Spinel's shadow form flying towards her. The water Gem gave a gasp as her pupils shrunk when a sword stabbed through her back just below her Gem, the tip emerging from Lapis' front. Spinel caught her Gem when her form dissipated then flew towards the still cowering technician. Peridot looked up when Spinel landed in front of her and the black Gem raised her sword to stab her. At the last second Peridot remembered that she still had the laser gun and aimed it at Spinel. "Take this, you clod!" Peridot said as she fired but Spinel easily dodged the beam and kicked the laser out of Peridot's hands. Peridot gulped and laughted nervously as she looked up at the unamused shadow Gem. Spinel suddenly smirked evilly and stabbed Peridot in the chest, poofing her then bending down to pick up her Gem.

* * *

Garnet had heard the sounds of the others poofing, her body tensing when Pearl's cry preceded one of them. She brought her gauntlets up in a boxing stance as her three eyes looked around behind her cracked visor. Feeling a presence behind her, Garnet spun around and punched Spinel right in the face, sending the shadow Gem flying back.

"Very impressive," the dark Gem complimented, standing back up. The pair of knives in her arms glowed and stretched, becoming a pair of large swords. "Perhaps you'll put up a better fight than those defects."

That set of Garnet's temper and she charged at Spinel, using her speed and strength to try to get an edge. Spinel was just as quick and used her double swords to block the barrage to punches then shifted to offensive with slashes and cuts. Garnet caught on of the swords in her hands sent a current of lighting through it, electrocuting the dark Gem. But Spinel held herself together and resisted to shock, pulling her sword out of Garnet's hold and backing off. Both Gems showed signs of their battle but Garnet looked far worse. Her jumpsuit was ripped up, her glasses virtually destroyed and she was panting heavily, breathing in air she normally didn't need. Clearly, the strain of fighting the killer robots, the shadow tentacles and Black Spinel herself was taking her toll.

"Don't you think this fight has lasted long enough?" Spinel asked suddenly. "It is obvious you will not last much longer. Give up now and I will spare you so your components can stay together as long as they want in that disgusting form of yours."

Garnet's glowered at Spinel's blatant insult of herself. She steadied her trembling form and addressed the dark Gem with as much strength as she could muster. "I promised Rose Quartz that I will protect this planet with my life and I'm not about to break that promise now."

"Oh well, sighed Spinel. "I will just have to destroy your form like the others. It would have just been easier if you gave up. Either way, with you out of the way, I'll be free to capture the hybrid. I find it to be such a fascinating being, I'll admit. Perhaps I'll do some experiments on it before taking it back to Yellow Diamond."

That last comment was what finally made Garnet snap. "STAY AWAY FROM STEVEN!" And she charged at Spinel in bling rage, intending to crush her Gem and grind it into dust. But Spinel had gambit on this being her reaction. Seconds before Garnet's fist could strike her Gem, Spinel brought one of her swords in front of her, letting the fusion impale herself on it. Black Spinel offered a small superior smirk to the shrunk-eyed, heavily breathing fusion before a cloud of smoke enveloped her, signaling her foes defeat. The black Gem swiftly gathered all the inert Gems in her hands before encapsulating them inside a dark bubble. She then took the bubble and stored it into her chest Gem then walked over to the part of the dome where she knew the hybrid and its human knight were fighting.

' _Soon, hybrid quartz, soon you'll be I my grasp and I will delight myself in hearing your screams of terror and pain.'_

* * *

Unlike the others, Steven and Connie had managed to remain together though they had lost sight of Lion. Even so, the two youngsters were a magnificent battle team, using the sword and shield in perfect harmony. Suddenly, the tentacles surrounding them stopped attacking and backed up, though they remained near. This confused and worried the two children and they keep their guard up as the tendrils remained still, waiting for something to happen. They didn't have to wait long as the tendrils directly in front of them parted to allow Black Spinel herself to stride forward.

The shadow Gem regarded the two for moment before addressing Connie. "Leave human, this is between the hybrid and me."

"I'm not leaving Steven!" Connie snapped with a glare.

Spinel sighed. "Very well," She snapped her fingers and a tentacle emerged from the mass to grab Connie, pulling the struggling girl back.

"Connie!" yelled Steven and he ran to her but he was blocked by the other tentacles.

"Relax, hybrid. No harm shall come to her." reassured the dark Gem as Steven turned to glare at her. "I just want to talk."

Steven narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"I have taken an interested in you." she slowly walked towards him as she spoke, stopping just a few feet from him. "A hybrid between a Gem and an organic being is practically un heard off and I'm curious on how these rebels could have given you Rose Quartz's Gem and powers with the archaic technology they certainly have."

It took Steven a moment to realize what Spinel was implying. "Wait, you think my friends poofed my mom, took her Gem then stuck it in my bellybutton to give me Gem powers?" he asked, baffled.

"Is that not how they did it?" Spinel questioned, sounding surprised. "How else could they create an organic being with Gem powers?"

' _Do I seriously need to give The Talk to the Gem that's attacking us?'_ though Steven, blushing as he asked himself. "It's complicated," he settled with that.

"Hmm, it doesn't matter anyway," she shrugged. "I'll have enough time to do some experiments on you and find out myself before I take you to Homeworld."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the children, Connie struggling more desperately. "I'm not going with you!" yelled Steven, backing away in fear with his shield raised.

"You don't really have much of a choice," Spinel stated calmly. "Even if you have the Rose Quartz Gem, I doubt you'll be any stronger than your allies." She summoned the black bubble from her Gem, letting the hybrid see the Gems within it.

" _Guys!"_ Steven's eyes widened in horror while Connie gasped.

"As you can see, your army didn't last long against me so be rational and surrender yourself. There's a good reason why I'm not called **Death's Shadow.** I have slayed countless Gems and other beings that most Gems in Homeworld would have dubbed invincible. Give up now and I give my word as Elite that whatever tests I decided to conduct on you won't be too painful."

Steven was shaking in terror, trying to think what to do. With the Gems defeated and Connie trapped, Steven only had his shield to defend himself and that would only work for so long. He looked at the smirking face Spinel sported, the black Gem convinced he'll give in soon enough.

Connie, meanwhile, continued to struggle in the tentacles grasp. No matter how hard she pulled, the tendrils only tightened more around her body, her armor being the only thing preventing her torso from being crushed. Connie lifted her head to look at the fearful expression in Stevens face and noticed the hopelessness shining in his eyes. This brought tears to her own eyes as she realized she couldn't do anything.

' _I'm sorry, Steven.'_ she though as a few of her tears fell to the ground. _'I couldn't protect you. I failed as a knight.'_

As the knight fell into despair, the star on her breastplate began glowing with a faint blue light. The light began to shine brighter and brighter and as Connie finally noticed, the star suddenly glowed as brightly as the sun. Steven shielded his eyes while Spinel screamed in pain as her shadow tentacles were burned away by the intensity of the light.

Finally, the light faded allowing Steven and a gasping Spinel to see Connie Maheswaran, striding confidently towards her liege, Rose's Sword held firmly in her hand.

"C-Connie?" asked Steven, staring as his best friend stood before him with a smirk in her features.

Connie simply offered Steven her hand. "Steven, let's do this together."

Steven's surprised face turned into a grinning one and he grabbed her hand. "Yeah!"

Spinel found herself once again blinded, this time by the luminous pink light emanating from the two best friends as they joined into one. Regaining her sight, Spinel saw Stevonnie standing majestically before her, wearing Connie's breastplate over Steven's shirt, the blue wrist guards on their wrists, holding the pink sword and shield in their hands.

"Y-You fused?" for the first time since she had appeared, Spinel had a look of complete shock in her face. Her eyes were very wide, her pupils shrunken to pinpricks and her mouth hanging so open, that it could have touched the ground. She looked less like the fearsome killer she claimed to be and more like a silly caricature.

Then, as if things couldn't be more surprising, a portal manifested right behind Spinel and Lion leaped out of it. Spinel spun around with her eyes and mouth open wide with shock as Lion charged at her. The black Gem was so stunned that she couldn't react when Lion suddenly released a sonic roar that knocked her several meters away from Steven. The bubble with the trapped Gems fell out of Spinel's hands and popped, scattering the rebels' Gem on the sand.

"Lion!" Stevonnie exclaimed happily as the pink feline skidded to a stop right next to him. With his eyes and mane glowing with a glorious light, Lion took his place at the human fusion's side and fixed his burning gaze on the recovering Spinel.

Spinel slowly stood up and looked at the now present Lion with a mix of surprise and fear. She had wanted to keep the beast as far away from the hybrid as she could and had focused the great majority of her shadow tentacles on doing just that. It was apparent that Spinel had not expected Lion to warp out and come here.

The fusion and feline didn't waste time waiting for Spinel to attack first, sprinting towards at full speed with battle cries and roars. Spinel barely had any time to react and she turned into a shadow, slithering out of the way of attacking claws and sword. Gaining some distance, she solidified and summoned two large swords, using them to block the pink blade that almost took her head. She pushed back with all her might, Stevonnie doing the same then did surprise attack by smacking the dark Gem on the head with their shield. Spinel staggered back from the blow but got enough of her bearings back to dodge when the fusion threw their shield at her. Spinel swung her left sword and managed to lightly slash Stevonnie's unprotected right bicep, the hybrid fusion crying out as their other hand clutched the bleeding would. Spinel tried to take advantage that they were injured but had to shadow-dodge out of the way when Lion pounced at her. The pink threw sonic roar after sonic roar at the slippery shade before striking her, forcing Spinel to solidify. Stevonnie meanwhile had summoned a new shield and despite their injured arm, they successfully smacked Spinel in the head again.

The shadow Gem realized she might need help and ordered the shadow tentacles too attack. The shadows obeyed their mistress, slithering towards the pink fighters. Lion slashed with his claws while Stevonnie cut with their sword but the fusion was grabbed by their ankle and lifted into the air. At a silent order from Spinel, the tendril bashed the fusion into the sandy ground numerous times with bone-shattering force. The attack stopped when Lion leaped high into the air to hit the tentacle with a powerful sonic roar, forcing it to drop Stevonnie, the pink cat catching them in mi-air.

Stevonnie held onto Lion, struggling to remain fused despite their injuries, Connie's armor and Steven's Gem resistance being what had prevented them from dying instantly. The injured fusion knew they wouldn't last much longer if the battle keep going like this. This needed to end now!

Giving a silent command to Lion, Stevonnie tightened their grip on the sword and summoned a new shield, the pink feline charging at full speed to the writhing mass of shadows that shielded Black Spinel. Combining swords slashes, shield throws, wiping claws and sonic roars, they quickly hacked their way through the shadowy forest, slowly getting closer and closer to their prey.

* * *

In the deepest confine of her shadow protection, Black Spinel sensed their steady approach. The shadow Gem had expected the beast to be formidable but she had been thrown off guard by the sheer power and strength the hybrid fusion possessed. _'I did not expect a fusion made out of organic beings to be this powerful, I have underestimated them. I must use my greatest power if I am to be victorious.'_

* * *

Stevonnie and Lion were startled when the shadows around them began to glide away from the. Through a gap they saw Black Spinel with her arms raised up, her Gem and eyes glowing with a black light as all the shadows spiraled around her. As all the shadows concentrated into a single point, the dome covering was dissipated, revealing the battle to the hiding Beach City citizens. Inside the Big Donut, The Maheswarans, Greg, Lars and Sadie watched as the dome receded, allowing them to view a battered Stevonnie and Lion facing a giant shadow twister.

"Who is that?" asked Doug, pointing to Stevonnie.

"That's, uh, Steven and Connie," said Greg, as the Maheswarans' turned to stare at him in shock.

"That's Steven and my daughter?!"

The former rock star winced at Dr. Maheswaran's outburst but nodded. "Yeah, Steven can fuse with humans and he and Connie make Stevonnie."

Greg felt a bit bad that he had broken his promise to Connie but there was no use keeping it a secret when they already saw them. Lars and Sadie were also gaping in shock, the two Big Donut employees blushing as they realized the gorgeous person that they had given free donuts to was actually two kids.

* * *

Stevonnie and Lion watched as the giant shadow twister began shift, growing bigger than Alexandrite, a huge pair of arms protruding from its sides and the top became a huge head with wispy protrusions coming out from it like hair. Finally, two huge glowing golden eyes appeared on its face and they looked down at the puny fusion and beast, killing intent shinning in them.

" _ **DO YOU YIELD NOW, PUNY HYBRID?"**_ bellowed a powerful, echoing voice that seemed to come from the Shadow Titan even if it had no mouth. The force was so great that it shattered every window in Beach City.

Stevonnie glared at the Shadow Titan and secured her grip on the growling Lion. "NEVER!" And with a mighty roar, Lion once again charged.

" _ **THEN DIE!"**_ The Shadow Titan brought a giant fist down on them but the pink lion was quicker and jumped onto the Titan's arm, running up its length towards the head.

Lion jumped at the Shadow Titan's face, hitting it with a sonic roar while Stevonnie slashed with her sword. The Titan smacked them with their hand, sending the two crashing into the beach. They recovered quickly and dodged another attempt at crushing them. The Titan extended its fingers into long tendrils to try to snare them but Stevonnie simply cut them with their sword. The fusion leaned down to Lion's ear and whispered something into it, the feline seemingly nodding before conjuring up a warp portal, the two vanishing into it.

At that moment, the Gems decided to regenerate and the stones began glowing like stars, rising into the air as the light formed their bodies. In a flash, all the Gems reformed, slowly lowering themselves to the ground. While Pearl, Ruby and Sapphire looked the same, Amethyst now had a white shirt, black pants with dark purple stars on the knees and dark purple booth. The ones with the biggest changes were Lapis and Peridot. While Lapis outfit was still a top/long-skirt combo, her skirt how had light blue frill at the end and two stars on her right hip, a dark blue one and a smaller yellow one just below it. Her hair was now really long, reaching well past her middle back, the blue locks billowing in the breeze like ocean waves. Peridot still had her yellow visor but her hair was no longer in a diamond shape, instead it fell freely down her back, reaching the middle of her back. The green Gem was now wearing a green shirt with a big yellow star on the chest with the image of a green alien head inside the star, light blue jeans, light green sneakers and an unzipped dark green jacket.

The Gems gasped when they saw the terrifying Shadow Titan, Peridot screaming and hiding behind Lapis. Before anyone could think of doing anything, the other end of Lion's portal opened directly above the Titan's head. Out of it came Lion and Stevonnie, the latter's sword pointed straight down at the Titan's head. The sword's tip struck on its mark and the weight of Stevonnie and Lion added to the gravity pulling them allowed them to cleave right down the middle of the shadow giant. They fell through the mass of shadows until they reached the center where Spinel was. The Shadow Gem had a second to be surprised before the pink blade stabbed her through the stomach. With Spinel critically injured, the Shadow Titan exploded and the shadows dissolved.

Lion landed hard on his feet with Stevonnie still on his back while Spinel crashed into the beach, Rose's sword still embedded on her stomach. Not having the energy to keep staying fused, Stevonnie separated back into Steven and Connie. Both children sustained damage from the battle but Steven's injuries looked worst.

The children and lion looked as Spinel struggled to stand, her form flickering and glitching. She managed to raise her head enough to lock gazes with Steven. They stared unblinking at each other for a moment then Black Spinel began to chuckle, confusing Steven.

"W-Well, you defeated me. I wasn't expecting you to do it," she admitted, a flicker of admiration in her eyes. "But this is not the end of it; you only one because you fused and had your beast with you. Now that I won't be returning, the Authority will send someone stronger. After all, I am just the tenth seat in the Council of Elite Twelve."

"Council of Elite Twelve?" echoed Steven as the Gems approached. "What's that?"

Black Spinel only chuckled again. "You'll find out soon. And mark my words; you'll need more than the power of a Diamond on your side when that time comes." That was the last thing she said as her form was released, Rose's sword and a smooth, black Gem falling into the ground.

Steven limped towards the inert Gem and picked it up, encasing it in a bubble that he sent to the Temple. As he watched the bubble disappear, he began thinking about Black Spinel's last words.

' _Power of a diamond? Council of Twelve Elites? What did she mean?'_

Steven's pondering was cut short when a sudden feeling of lightheadedness overcame him, the scenery beginning to spin around him. The last thing he heard was Connie frantically calling his name before everything went black.

* * *

 **Next chapter will explain some things and include some headcanons and ideas I had. Wow, this is the longest chapter I have ever written it's more than twelve Word pages long using size 11 Times New Roman! Hope the content is was worth the length. I originally had Peridot actually fighting the shadows and revealing her shadow powers but I decided to have her just cowering in fear with a small attempt of action in the end. Don't worry; Peridot will get her moment of awesomeness in my future stories. Amethyst new outfit is the one she regenerates with in 'Crack the Whip' cause this story is set after 'Barnmates' ('Hit the Diamond' didn't happen because 'Barnmates' had an alternative ending in this continuity). Pearl and Garnet didn't get new outfits because I couldn't think of any at the moment but if I think of something, I'll edit the chapter to add it. Peridot and Lapis' new looks are based on some drawings I made of them but they're not exactly the same, I'll be drawing their new looks into my DeviantArt page soon. I'll also upload a drawing of Black Spinel there so you can see how cool and scary she looks. Anyway, next chapter might take a while because my classes still last at least two more weeks and finals are approaching, so be patient and remember: read, review, favorite and follow!**


	7. Revelations

**Hi, welcome back to another chapter of this wonderful story! As you may have notice, I changed the title to something that I feel sounds better. Thank you author playerboy99 of DeviantArt for suggesting the new title. This chapter was originally longer but I decided to cut it in half because there's a lots of stuff in it and I was taking too long already. Anyway, without further ado, here it is!**

* * *

 _It smells like roses..._

This thought crossed Steven's mind as he floats through an empty void, his eyes closed. The sweet scent of rose flowers tickle his nose as he feels himself being deposited on solid ground, feeling grass and a gentle breeze touching his skin.

With some difficulty, Steven opens his eyes a bit then slams them shut as intense light burns his irises. He opens them more slowly to adjust to the light and Steven finally got a look at his surroundings.

He was resting face up on a field of tall pink grass, the rose-colored strands swaying gently in the breeze. Huge fluffy, pink clouds dot both the sky and field, looking to all like giant pieces of cotton candy. The sky itself has a crystalline look to it, almost giving the impression that he looking at it through crystal. And, despite that there were no roses in sight; the flowers' sweet aroma surrounds Steven like a soft, comforting blanket.

"Huh, this place kinda looks like a mix of Mom's Room and Lion's mane" says Steven out loud. He then gasps, suddenly remembering the battle against Black Spinel. "Connie! Guys! I gotta go back from... wherever this place is!" he rambles frantically.

"Don't worry, Steven. They're safe."

Steven's eyes widen when he hears the familiar voice behind him. He recognizes it and knew who it belongs to but that was impossible for the last time he had heard it was in the tape she had left him. He slowly turns around and gasps again at seeing the large, pink-haired Gem before him. "M-Mom?" he stammers in disbelief.

Rose Quartz smiles at her son as she walks the distance between them, kneeling to his level and speaking with a mirthful and motherly voice "Hello, Steven. It's so good to finally see you."

Steven's astonishment is quickly wiped off his face to be replaced with sheer elation. He leaps into his mother's arms as their joyful laughter fills the pink fields. After a few minutes of enjoying the hug, he pulls away.

"It's good to see you too," Steven smiles but his joy changes into confusion. "But how are you here? _Where_ is here?"

Rose giggles "I'm here because we share the same Gem and therefore, we share its inner sanctum, where we are now."

"Wait, I'm inside my Gem?!" Steven exclaims. "Did I get poofed?"

Rose's face changes to a grave one. "No, not exactly," She seems a bit hesitant to explain. "Since your body is organic it cannot dissipate like that of a full Gem but you can still 'regenerate' in a certain way."

Steven is surprised. "How?"

"Your conscious self was forced into the sanctum so that your Gem energy can concentrate of healing your injuries. Basically, you're in a coma while your body heals."

"So, I'm inside my Gem until I get better? How long is that gonna take?" he asks a bit frantically. "Am I going to stay here for two weeks like Pearl?!"

"No," Rose says reassuringly, trying to calm him down. "At least I'm certain you won't. Your injuries weren't too severe and most of them were inflicted while you were fused, so your friend Connie took some of the damage when you separated."

Steven is relieved but then he remembers his best friend. "What about Connie?"

"I believe she's fine as well, after all, she's a very strong girl." Rose smiles as she says this "At least, from what I've seen of her."

Steven's sighs in relief as he sits down on the pink ground. A question then forms in his mind and he looks up at his mother. "Wait, how can you have seen Connie if you're in here?"

"It's because I became part of you after I gave up my physical form. I see what you see, though, I'm only an observer and cannot influence your decisions."

"Oh" is the only thing Steven can say about that and he begins to look around at the pink fields that form the rose quartz gem's inner sanctum. "You know, this place kinda looks like Lion's mane" he commented out loud.

"Well, we are connected to him so it's not surprising that his pocket dimension matches our sanctum."

Steven's head whirls to face Rose. "What, connected?"

Rose nods "Indeed, though I think its best that we wait for him to arrive before explaining."

A portal suddenly opens up behind him and Lion leaps out, the big feline skidding to a stop next to them.

"Lion!" the Quartz child exclaims happily, hugging his furry friend. "How did you get here?"

"As I said before, he's connected to us so we can link our consciousness like how you connected to Lapis in your dreams" Rose says as she walked over to them. She kneels before Lion and smiles as he rubs his head on her, her smile widening as she pets him. "Hello, Guardian. I'm glad to see you again, too."

"Guardian?" Steven stares at his mother curiously. "Is that his real name?"

"Well, that's what we called him although it was more of a title than anything."

" _Though, I don't mind the name you gave me, even if it is very unoriginal"_

Steven's eyes widen when the deep male voice speaks and he looks at Lion in shock. "D-Did you just say something?"

" _Yes"_ says the same deep voice, coming from Lion though his lips aren't moving. _"Since we are connected, we have a telepathic bond. Though ours still isn't as strong as the one I had with Rose, you can still subconsciously call me when you need my help."_

"So that's why you suddenly appeared that time when the Hand Ship came!" the boy says in realization.

Lion nods _"Yes, I sensed that you wanted to return to Beach City, so I answered your call. But we can talk more about it later."_ Lion then addresses Rose. _"Rose, she wants to be here as well, she wants to meet Steven."_

Rose's eyes widen slightly but then she sighs. "I had hoped to introduce them when Steven had more control of his powers but I guess there's no harm in him meeting her now."

Steven is confused. "What is he talking about, Mom? Meet who?"

Neither Rose nor Lion answer immediately then suddenly, Lion's eyes glow with a pink light, startling Steven. The hybrid watches as an orb of pink, swirling energy emerges from Lion's chest and floats a little bit away from the group. The orb then grows and expands, slowly forming a humanoid shape. Finally, the form solidifies, revealing itself to be a tall, pink Gem, who lands on her feet with her eyes closed.

The Gem was a few inches taller than Rose, her hair styled similarly to Lion's mane. She was wearing a pink-and-white outfit and a rhombus-shaped Gem was located on her navel. Her eyes then open to reveal pink irises with diamond pupils and she smiles when she notices the group.

"Hello, my Guardian; hello, my dear Rose," her voice was smooth as silk and almost musical. "It's good to see you."

Lion walks over to the Gem and rubs against her legs _. "Mistress"_ he says as the Gem pets him

"My Diamond," greets Rose, bowing.

Steven gasps "D-Diamond?!"

The Diamond turns to the gaping boy and walks over to him. She kneels to his level and her smile widens. "Hello Steven, it's nice to finally meet you. My name is Pink Diamond."

 **In the Beach House**

"So what do you think, Dr. Maheswaran?" Greg asks worriedly. "What's wrong with Steven?"

After Steven had collapsed, the Gems and Greg had frantically run over to him, Greg having sprinted all the way from the Big Donut. After a few failed attempts to wake him up, Dr. Maheswaran had ordered them to take Steven into the house so that she could check him over. She had now finished with her diagnostic as well as bandaging his injuries and was putting her medical tools away. Her husband, Connie and the Gems were in the living room while the rest of Beach City's population waited outside, all of them worried for Steven.

"Well, aside from his obvious injuries, there's nothing physically wrong with him" Priyanka tells him. She maneuvers around Lion, who had lain down to sleep next to Steven's bed and wouldn't budge no matter what. "Most likely, he's just unconscious due to the stress his body suffered during the battle."

"Then why isn't Connie like that, too?" the former Rockstar gestures to the small girl as he and Dr. Maheswaran descended into the living room.

Connie was sitting on the couch along with her dad and Amethyst, her head down with a look of worry. Her body was also in bandages though not as much as Steven.

"Well, her injuries aren't as severe so is likely her body doesn't need to force itself to rest" was Priyanka's explanation.

The doctor took seat next to Connie while Greg pretty much collapsed next to Amethyst. It was obvious that the stressful situation had taken its toll on the adult Universe and he wasn't the only one.

Amethyst was curled up on the couch, her hair covering her eyes, serving as a barrier from the world; Lapis was sitting on the floor next to the counter with her arms wrapped around her legs and covering her face with her knees; Peridot was next to her, trying to give her comfort, though her own worry was present in her face; Garnet (who had since re-fused) was trying to give off a strong presence as she leaned on the counter but the slight shaking or her arms betrayed how truly worried she was. Between them, Pearl was the worst of them all, standing in the middle of the room after having been pacing for a while, her body shaking in an attempt to hold back her tears, occasionally stealing glances towards the loft where Steven was resting.

Everyone looks up at Dr. Maheswaran as she speaks once more. "I recommend that we let him rest and watch over him for any signs of him waking up."

"We understand, thank you, Dr. Maheswaran" says Garnet.

"E-excuse me," Pearl pushes past the others and heads for her room, the stress becoming too much for her.

Garnet sighs as she watches the Temple door close behind Pearl. "Excuse me as well," and she also enters the Temple to comfort the distressed Gem.

Silence reigned for a while after Garnet had left, it being broken by Doug addressing his wife. "I'll take Connie home, that way you can stay and-"

"I'm staying too" interrupted Connie resolutely.

"Connie-" her mom begins but Connie doesn't let her finish.

"No Mom, I'm not leaving Steven when he needs me the most!" The Maheswaran parents hear the firmness if their daughter's voice and know that she won't change her mind.

"Fine," Dr. Maheswaran sighs.

Greg pulls himself up from the couch. "I'll get you some sleeping bags" and goes to help them set up.

This left Amethyst alone on the couch, alone apart from the turbulent thoughts that swarm her mind. The screen door suddenly opens and Greg looks up in surprise at who comes in. "Vidalia?"

"Hey, Greg," she greets with a small smile and walks over to the couch to sit next to the small purple Gem curled up on it.

Amethyst startles when Vidalia sits, the small Gem looking up in surprise to see her old friend next to her. "V?"

The onion woman says nothing as she pulls the surprised Gem into a comforting hug, which Amethyst gladly melts into.

 **Inside the Temple**

Garnet traverses the Temple's interior towards Pearl's room, intent on giving support to her teammate in their darkest hour. She soon arrives to the fountain-filled room and she begins looking around for the white Gem. She doesn't look long before she hears sobs coming from one of the highest fountains and the fusion wastes no time in leaping over to it.

She finds Pearl at the top, sobbing with her face in her hands, the white Gem getting startled by the fusion's arrival.

"Garnet!" exclaims Pearl in surprise and she trys to wipe the tears from her eyes.

Garnet doesn't say anything and she pulls the thin Gem into a hug, holding her close as Pearl breaks down again. "Shh," she whispers soothingly. "Everything will be alright."

"I- hick- I don't want to lose him, Garnet" sobs Pearl, burying her face into Garnet's chest.

"We won't," Garnet reassures her, holding Pearl tighter. The fusion wills her shades away so that Pearl can see her eyes. "Steven is stronger than any of us realize and I believe in him."

This didn't vanquish Pearl's pain but her sobs diminish into sniffles. In an act of boldness, Garnet holds Pearl's head in her hands and joins their lips together.

Pearl's eyes widen in surprise but she soon melts into it, her eyes closing in pleasure. They lips remain locked together for a long time, nether of the needing to stop for air, though they eventually separate.

"Garnet," the thin Gem whispers. "Please, stay with me," she begs. "I need you."

Garnet looks at Pearl, her gaze soft as she once again leans down, giving a briefer kiss. "Of course"

 **Rose/Steven's Gem Sanctum**

Silence reigned on the pink fields, the gentle sound of the breeze blowing through the grass being the only sound heard. Steven stares at the newly revealed Diamond, his pupils tiny pinpricks that were lost in the white of his eyes. They boy was as still as a statue until Pink Diamond reach a hand towards him and Steven steps back.

Pink Diamond freezes at Steven reaction and the other two pink beings notice the fear in the young hybrid eyes.

"Is alright, Steven" says Rose reassuringly.

"But aren't the Diamonds bad?" Steven asks, confusion joining his fear.

Pink Diamond flinches when he says that, the tall Gem looking away in shame.

" _Steven,"_ Lion intervenes. _"I know what the Gems told you about the Diamond Authority but Pink Diamond is not like her sisters. It's thanks to her that the Rebellion even began."_

"What?"

"Yes Steven," Rose heads over to them, kneeling before her son. "While I may have been the leader of the rebellion, Pink Diamond is the real founder of the Crystal Gems."

Seeing the confusion and shock growing in Steven's expression, Pink Diamond turns to Rose. "Perhaps it's time that we begin our tale, my Rose."

"You're right, my Diamond," Rose agrees. "Steven is time for you to learn more about my origins and the origin of the Crystal Gems."

Rose, Lion and Pink Diamond sat down in a circle, Steven sitting next to Rose a moment later, his earlier fear vanishing at the prospect of hearing a story. Pink Diamond then closes her eyes and her Gem glows with a pink light as their surroundings blur and change.

"This tale begins on Earth, about 6,000 years ago" Pink Diamond narrates as the scenery turns into a grassy area surrounded by trees. "It was rich in minerals and held the potential to give Homeworld an army the likes of which have never been seen before. In short, this planet was a promising site for a new colony but I also held something greater than a huge army."

Steven was captivated, watching as three Homeworld ships- a yellow one that looked like a right arm, the second similar to the first but instead being a blue left arm and the last one resembling a huge white head with spiked hair- descended from the skies and hovered a few meters above the Earth. The undersides of each ship opened, allowing a palanquin matching their respective ship's color to fly out. The palanquins floated to the ground and landed, allowing their passengers to exit.

Steven's eyes widened as he saw Yellow Diamond come out first, followed by Blue Diamond and lastly, another Diamond, white-colored and slightly taller than the former two, spiked hair like her Head Ship and her rhombus-shaped Gem located on her forehead. A Gem Injector, bigger than the ones in the Kindergarten, then followed the white Gem out of her palanquin. After they had walked a bit away, the white Gem placed a vial filled with a pink substance into the Injector and activated it, the machine implanting the pink substance into the ground

"Earth held the potential to birth a Diamond, a new member to add to the authority," continued speaking Rose. "So the Diamonds, Yellow, Blue and White came to Earth and injected diamond material into the ground, hoping that that it would take root and a new Gem be formed."

Once the material was injected, the Diamonds got back into their palanquins and floated back into their ships. The ships then zipped away into space, back towards Homeworld.

"Since a Diamond takes a long time to form, the three left Earth with the intention of returning at the estimated time that I was to emerge" Pink Diamond explained and she throws a smirk towards Steven. "Luckily, I emerged much earlier than they expected."

They watch as time passes by until on a sunny day, Pink Diamond bursts out of the ground. The Diamond breaths heavily and looks up at the sky in amazement, pulling herself out of her hole and starting to walk around.

"I knew that I was supposed to stay put until the other Diamonds came to collect me but I was so curious about the world I was in that I began to explore. I studied the plants, the animals and even hung with humans for a while until finally, almost thirty years after I was born, he Diamonds returned. Although, I wasn't what some of them were expecting."

Pink Diamond stands in the grassy field as he watches the Diamonds' ships return and once more the palanquins descend to Earth. As the Diamonds exit, Yellow Diamond notices Pink Diamond and angrily snarls. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The Pink Diamond sitting with them flinches while the one in the memory trembles. "I-I'm sorry," she stutters in fear. "D-Did I do something to offend-"

"You are defective," growls Blue Diamond. "You should tower over the land as we do but you barely stand taller than a Quartz soldier."

"I- I wanted to exist, this world is teeming with life and I wanted too-"

"It's teeming with _organic_ life," Yellow Diamond says in disgust. "As Gems, we are above such lifeforms, though obviously you're not."

"We should shatter her," Blue Diamond addresses Yellow Diamond. "It would be a mercy."

"Please no," Pink Diamond begs as tears streamed down her face. "I don't want to... "

"ENOUGH!"

The ground shook with the force of the yell and both Blue and Yellow Diamond fall to their knees, the two making the Diamond salute as White Diamond exits her palanquin. The huge Gem moves toward Pink Diamond, kneeling down to look at her better before passing a hand through her hair and smiling. "There's nothing flawed about you, my precious Pink Diamond. You're perfect as you are now."

"You cannot be serious, White Diamond!" Yellow Diamond exclaims indignantly. "This Gem is flawed and has no place in-"

White Diamond silences her yellow counterpart with a cold glare. "Have you forgotten your place, Yellow Diamond?"

Yellow Diamond's eyes widen and the Diamond is once again kneeling in supplication, her gaze lowered. "Forgive me, my Diamond. I was just..."

"Wait," Steven interrupts as the scene freezes. The boy looks at Pink Diamond in confusion "Why did Yellow Diamond called White Diamond 'My Diamond'? I thought they were all equals."

Pink Diamond chuckles bitterly at that. "No, that's just what they want their subjects to believe but the truth is that the Authority considers White Diamond to be most superior of them."

"You see, Steven," Rose begins explaining. "White Diamond is different from the other Diamonds not only because she was the first Diamond but because the she the first Gem al l together. She and the oldest members of her court were formed naturally on Homeworld's soil and White Diamond guided them in forming the Gem Empire as well as developing the methods to create more Gems."

Pink Diamond continued, "She used these methods to create Blue Diamond and later Yellow Diamond, giving each of them their own colonies to rule over. Despite this, she never saw either of them as her equals because, in her eyes, they were flawed. That's how things were until I was formed and White Diamond began showing me favoritism, since she saw me as an equal." The Diamond looks sad for a moment "This favoritism made Blue and Yellow very jealous though they accepted me after a while."

The scene resumes playing, White Diamond standing up and glaring at Yellow Diamond before speaking. "I understand your concerns, Yellow Diamond but as I said, she's perfect and I do not want to hear any more contradictions."

She then gestures for Pink Diamond to move besides her and calls towards her palanquin "Pearl."

"Yes, my Diamond," a familiar voice responds and Steven gasps as his Pearl exits the white palanquin. She looks different from the Pearl he was familiar with her outfit, for one thing, was unlike anything he had seen Pearl wear but the biggest contrast was her behavior. The Pearl in the memory looked very demure and her blue eyes lacked the burning fire that the current Pearl possessed.

"Pearl?" questions Steven as the scene once again freezes and Pink Diamond turns to him.

"Indeed, Steven. The Pearl you know now used to be White Diamond's personal pearl but that's a story for another time" and with that the scene continues playing.

"Bring the Pearl that I had made for Pink Diamond."

"Yes my Diamond, I will bring her out at once."

A moment later, Pearl came out with another pearl at her side, this one with pink skin and hair, wearing a beautiful pink gown. The pink Pearl looks nervous as she's guided towards the two Diamonds.

"Pink Diamond, this is your personal Pearl. I had her made special for you so that she may help you with your duties."

Pink Diamond looks excited as she looks over her pearl then turns to White Diamond, asking "She's really mine?"

"Yes she is, now let us board my ship, we have a long way to travel to reach Homeworld."

White Diamond and Pink Diamond board the white palanquin with their Pearls following while Blue Diamond and Yellow Diamond board their own palanquins. The three modes of transportation then float back into the waiting ships and the vessels zoom out and away from Earth's atmosphere, in route back to the Homeworld.

The memory ends here and the scene changes back into the pink fields as Pink Diamond sighs. "Once we returned to Homeworld, White Diamond had Yellow Diamond teach me all I needed to know about being a Diamond, including how to create other Gems. The Earth was meant to become my first colony and my first test as its new ruler was to design a new kind of Gem that would serve me exclusively. These Gems that I designed to be my new subjects, to be loyal to me before to any of the other Diamonds... were the _Rose Quartzes_."

* * *

 **Wow, is this chapter a bombshell or what? More shocking explosions coming up next chapter as we keep delving deeper into the past. Pink Diamond's backstory and her relationship with the other Diamonds is taken from the story "The Truth of Pink Diamond" by Fuedra on Archive of Our Own as well as most of the dialog from that flashback (thought I did some changes) so the credit goes to her. Anyway, that's all for now so see you next time!**

 **P.S.: Here's the link to the story "The Truth of Pink Diamond" if you're interested in reading it /works/8899561/chapters/20395948**


	8. The Birth and Death of a Rebellion

**Hello everybody, I'm back! Sorry for the long hiatus but life and lack of inspiration prevented me from updating sooner. Still, I hope this new chapter is worth the long wait that I made you endure. Enjoy!**

* * *

The scene changes once again and they find themselves in a lush, green canyon with Gem Injectors all around. It takes Steven a few seconds to recognize the place as the Kindergarten since it was not the dead wasteland it is in the present. Standing a while away, facing one of the canyon walls, were Pink Diamond and her Pearl, a pink palanquin parked to one side. The duo was accompanied by three other Gems.

The first one had the same body-type as a Quartz with pink skin and whitish-pink hair tied into two buns on each side of her head. She wore a dark magenta top under a pink shawl marked with a pink diamond, pink-and-white skirt-pants combo and white, thigh-high, high-heeled boots. Her gem was an un-faceted pink-banded circle located on her navel and visible thanks to a diamond shaped hole in her shirt. The second Gem was also pink-skinned but her hair was green and she wore a green-and-pink Homeworld uniform with spiked shoulder pads, her gem not being visible on her body. The third Gem was the shortest of the trio and it was the one who elicited a surprised gasp out of Steven for she appeared to be a pink version of Sapphire. There were a few other differences from Garnet's patient half other than the coloring, however. The pink Sapphire's hair was shorter and styled in wavy curls. The Sapphire and the large pink Gem had stoic expressions while the pink-n-green Gem seemed to have an annoyed look on her face. Steven felt that there was something familiar about her face but couldn't recall why.

"Who are they?" he asks.

Pink Diamond looks at each Gem, some nostalgia and sadness visible in her eyes. "They are Pink Lace Agate, Tourmaline and Pink Sapphire, some of the very first Gems to join my Court. Pink Lace was the supervisor of my Quartz soldiers, she was very strict and serious but not as cruel as other Agates were to their subordinates. Tourmaline was my Head of Security, tasked with coordinating the soldiers who protected my Court. Tourmalines usually served as law enforcers back on Homeworld or as bodyguards to Gems scouting new planets."

"Oh, like police officers!" the hybrid went starry-eyed at the thought.

"Yes, exactly," the pink queen agrees with him even though she had no idea what police officers were. "Anyway, I'm certain you're familiar with a Sapphire's skills, so there's no need to explain it. Pink Sapphire was gifted to me by Blue Diamond shortly after she finally accepted me as a fellow Diamond."

"Do all of them look so serious all the time?" Steven was a bit put off by the small, pink Gem's stoic visage even though he was used to seeing such looks from Garnet and, on the few she defused, from Sapphire.

"It's a side effect from their future vision," the boy looks as his mother as she explains. "Since most of the time they know what'll happen, they aren't easily fazed."

"Oh." Steven turns back to the 'past' Gems as they appear to be waiting for something. "What's going on?"

"A very important event for the Earth colony and one of my fondest memories," Pink Diamond has a radiant smile on her face that it's matched by Rose. Their attention was drawn to the canyon wall as a section began to crack and crumble, as if something was digging itself out from within. The debris was suddenly blown away to reveal a large figure emerging from the newly-dug hole on the wall.

As the dust settles, Steven eyes' widen in shock as the figure reveals itself to be a Quartz Gem with voluminous pink ringlets, wearing a pink version of the Homeworld uniform with the pants replaced by a short white skirt. The pentagonal-faceted pink gemstone located on the Gem's navel confirms her identity to Steven.

"I-Is that...?"

"Yes," Rose confirms then answers her son's unspoken question. "Like Amethyst, my sisters and I were formed on Earth's soil."

Steven just stares in awe as more Rose Quartzes emerge from the walls, all of them wearing the same uniform and sharing the same pink curls as his mother. The all gathered before the past Pink Diamond and her entourage, almost a hundred soldiers standing in attention as the future rebel leader Rose stepped forward.

"My Diamond!" Rose forms her arms into the Diamond salute, her sisters doing the same. "We, the Rose Quartz Legion are ready to serve you."

There was a beat of silence then...

" _EEEHHH!"_

The whole legion of newly emerged Gems gawk in bafflement as their Diamond picks up Rose in a hug and begins swinging the similar-sized Gem around, all while delight-filled shrieks emerge from her mouth.

"You're here! You're here!" Pink Diamond continues spinning the bewildered Rose Quartz around. "I can't believe you're finally here!"

Pink Lace and Tourmaline sweat dropped while Pink Pearl just sighed at her mistress's antics, resting her face in her palm and Pink Sapphire just stood there, ever stoic, obviously having foreseen everything. It appears that this was not the first time the Gems from the Pink Court had witnessed this behavior from their Diamond.

Pink Diamond finally puts Rose down but the enthusiastic grin remains on her face. "Sorry, I'm just so happy that you all emerged." She gazes around at all the Rose Quartzes, her grin fading into a warm smile. "You are all more wonderful than I could have imagined."

The rosy Gems blush even pinker and the past version of Steven's mother gives the pink queen a small smile in return. "We're pleased that we surpassed your expectations, My Diamond."

Pink Pearl coughs to get everyone's attention. "Pardon me, My Diamond, but we have a schedule to complete."

"Ahem, of course," Pink Diamond banishes her embarrassment and adopts a commanding posture. "Pink Lace Agate"

"My Diamond?"

"I'm counting on you to make sure my new soldiers are prepared for their duties," She then turns to looks at the Roses. "I'm leaving you in Pink Lace's command." The Roses saluted and Pink Diamond walks towards her palanquin with her Pearl, Sapphire and Tourmaline following as Pink Lace steps forwards to begin her task of preparing her Diamond's future elite forces.

The scene fades away as they return to the present time, both Pink Diamond and Rose sporting warm smiles as they reminisce their past, though Steven notices that his mother has a blush of embarrassment in her face. Steven is hesitant to ruin the moment but there's something her must ask even if he might not like the answer.

"What happened to them?" Rose and Pink look at Steven as he elaborates. "The other Rose Quartzes, I mean."

As he feared, sorrow replaces the warmth that once filled the two Gems' faces. "After Rose rebelled, my sisters wanted me to shatter the rest of the Legion for fear that they might turn traitor as well. I told them that I would not do such thing so I was forced to dissipate their forms and bubble them to keep them safe. I'm unaware of their current fate, though." Pink notices the guilty look that Rose bore. "Do not blame yourself for what befell your sisters, my Rose. The fault it's not yours but mine to bear."

"I should have tried harder to convince them to join me," a sniffle sounds from the rebel leader and Steven looks distraught at seeing some tears in his mother's eyes. "I could have done better."

"You did your best, my Rose; _I'm_ the one who's to blame since I started the rebellion in the first place."

Steven gasps at this revelation but Pink Diamond only waves her hand as another event from the past begins to play. They are now at a Gem base made out of what appeared to be pink crystal as dozens of Gems work inside and outside. Some time had passed since the Rose Legion had first emerged and the work on building the new colony was progressing quickly. Inside a base, in what looked like a throne room, Pink Diamond walks through the pink corridors, her loyal Pearl walking just behind her as she informs her mistress of recent developments.

"The construction the Lunar Spire is going according to schedule and the Communications Hub has just been completed, my Diamond." Pink Diamond nods along as her Pearl reports. "There are some delays with the Ziggurat's completion as the workers seem wary of some maned, roaring beasts that inhabit the area."

"Just send some Quartz soldiers to the location and have them scare those animals away. Most Earth creatures are no match for Gems so it's easy to intimidate them without harming them physically." The Diamond's attention is drawn elsewhere when she notices her Sapphire pacing up ahead, an unusual look of distress evident in the small Gem's face. It was rare to see any expression in a Sapphire's facial features so one of them looking _troubled_ of all things was worrisome. Concerned, Pink Diamond calls, "My Sapphire!"

The pink seer jumps and looks startled to see her Diamond as if she had _not_ expected her to be there. Sapphires are virtually impossible to surprise so the fact that she had apparently caught her own off guard like that solidified Pink Diamond's suspicions that there was something wrong with her Sapphire.

"M-My D-Diamond" Ok, if Pink wasn't sure if there was something wrong with her Sapphire, the small Gem's nervous stutter banished any doubts.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I-I mean, nothing is wrong my Diamond" Her little seer's answer was to quickly given to be natural. She was terrified, Pink realizes.

The youngest Diamond knelt next to the smaller pink Gem and lifts the Sapphire's face by placing her finger beneath her chin. "My Sapphire, please tell me what's troubling you," the Diamond's voice was motherly as she brushes the smaller Gem's bangs away from her single pink eye. "It pains me to see you like this."

Pink Sapphire's eye widens at her Diamond's concern for her and she breaks down into sobs. Pink Diamond hugs her close and whispers comforting words. Pink Pearl stood back as she watches her mistress comfort the seer. Despite think that such behavior was inappropriate for a Diamond, Pink Pearl had to admit that the Gems of the Pink Court were fortunate to have such a caring ruler.

Finally, Pink Sapphire calms down enough to explain what was troubling her. "It's my future vision." _Is she troubled by something she saw?_ though Pink. "It doesn't seem to be working anymore."

Pink Diamond's and Pink Pearl's eyes widen at the confession. A Sapphire who's future vision doesn't work?

Shaking the shock away, Pink Diamond gives her Sapphire a firm look. "Tell me everything"

"I keep having this vision of something impossible, of something about that _can't_ possibly be true!"

"What's the vision about?" Pink Diamond urges.

Pink Sapphire seems hesitant to answer but she steels herself. "In it I see _you_ , my Diamond, rising up against your sisters to save the creatures of this planet."

Pink and her Pearl both gasp with the servant Gem's hand covering her mouth in shock. No wonder the seer was so distraught; she was basically saying she foresaw her Diamond turning traitor. Seeing her Diamond frozen with shock, Pink Sapphire collapses on the floor as her form was shaken by her reemerging sobs, certain that her Diamond would shatter her now that she knew she was defective.

When her expected annhilation never came, Pink Sapphire dared to look up and sees that her Diamond has a thoughtful look on her face. What she says next stuns them. "There's some truth in your vision, my Sapphire."

"What!" "What?"

Pink ignores the dual exclamations of astonishment and walks over to a large window, looking out it at the Gems working outside. She remained silent for a long while before speaking. "It's horrible isn't, the fate of this planet?" The two look at their Diamond in confusion. "We're sucking it dry of its resources to create more of our kind, all the while killing it and the creatures that inhabit it."

"That's just how things are, My Diamond," said Pink Pearl after some hesitation.

"Only if we do nothing to change it," at their uncomprehensive looks, the pink ruler elaborates. "As Pink Sapphire predicted, I plan on rebelling against my sisters' Authority."

Steven in the present and Pink Sapphire and Pink Pearl on the past gasped at Pink Diamond's declaration. "You can't be serious!" Normally, a Pearl wouldn't even _think_ of ever using that tone against their Diamond but Pink Pearl had always been given more leniency than normal. "Even if you manage to gather enough support, you'd be no match against the power of _three_ other Diamonds. They will not allow a member of their Authority to just rebel against them."

"I just can't stand to one side and let the world that created me be destroyed!"

"What if you didn't rebel directly?"

Diamond and Pearl turn to the Sapphire, who had mostly recovered from her emotional wreck. She had once again covered her single eye with her bangs and her mouth was set in a firm line.

"What do you mean, my Sapphire?"

"What if you had someone else lead a rebellion in your place?" the seer elaborates. "If you let another Gem be the face of your rebellion, then the rest of the Authority will just think it's a bunch of rowdy Gems causing trouble and see it as your problem to deal with."

"Hmm, that could work and I think I know the perfect Gem to be my proxy."

Pink Pearl was still skeptical. "Are you seriously going to do this, my Diamond?"

"Yes, I've never been more serious about something in my entire existence." The Pearl could see the firm resolution glinting in her Diamond's eyes and at that moment she knew that no force on the galaxy would ever be able the dissuade her. "I won't hold it against you if you decide not to join us, my Pearl. I know that it'll be dangerous and-"

"Of course I will join you!" And Pink Pearl realized at that moment that she was sincere. While she was afraid of what repercussions this will cause, she would do anything to repay all the kindness her Diamond had showed her all the time they'd been together. "I can assist you in coordinating the rebellion from the inside and relaying whatever information they might need."

Pink Diamond smiles at her Pearl's loyalty "I cannot thank you enough, my Pearl; and you too, my Sapphire. That you're willing to aide me even when the future is uncertain..."

"Like your Pearl said, you have been such a kind and fair leader to us of the Pink Court so of course it would be an honor to aide you in such noble cause." And Pink Sapphire gives a tiny smile that that nevertheless radiates great warmth.

Pink Diamond matches the smile. "Excellent. Now, before we begin our planning, we must inform some other members of my Court of the plan since them knowing what's going to happen is crucial. Pearl, summon Pink Lace Agate, Tourmaline and Rose Quartz, immediately."

The scene fades away back to the present as Pink Diamond continues the tale. "The three of them were onboard with my plan without much trouble. Pink Lace and Tourmaline were to remain 'loyal' to maintain the illusion that I had control over my court while Rose publically led the rebellion; Tourmaline also worked on recruiting new Gems to our cause, mostly those who disagreed with how Homeworld ran things, though none knew my true involvement. The less Gems that knew about it, the better we could keep it a secret from my sisters."

Pain and regret flashed through Rose's face. "I tried to get my fellow Rose Quartzes to join me but none of them wanted to 'betray' our Diamond and I couldn't tell them the truth without risking being discovered."

"With Rose turning 'traitor', my sisters demanded that I shatter the rest of the Legion for fear that they might betray me too."

Steven is horrified. "You didn't...!?"

"No, I did not," the Diamond reassures him. "I told them I would not shatter them just for what one of them did, so I dissipated their forms and bubbled their Gems. I was intending to find a way to send them to Earth but things didn't go according to plan."

"A few centuries after the rebellion started, my sisters were beginning to think that I was incapable of handling the rebellion, well, Yellow felt that way but Blue and White were starting to have doubts about my ability to lead. They began to get more involved in my efforts to 'stop' the rebellion, mostly Blue since I was the closest to her and she developed a bit of a protective nature towards me. It was after Blue's Sapphire and her Ruby guard defected that things began to turn for the worst."

"After welcoming Garnet into our ranks, we acquired the knowledge of forming mix-Gem fusions which boosted out strength considerably. With the rebellion winning more and more battles, Yellow Diamond managed to convince White Diamond that they should directly involve themselves, so My Diamond and I came up with a plan to scare them out of interfering."

"What did you do?" the young hybrid asks his mother.

"We decided to trick the Authority and make them believe that I shattered Pink Diamond."

"What! ?"

"Yes," the pink queen confirms as she takes over the storytelling. "If the Diamonds were convinced that the Crystal Gems were powerful enough to destroy one of them, then they'll recall their forces away from Earth." A frown marred Pink's face as she turns her head to one side. "Unfortunately, that plan backfired tremendously. After my 'demise', Tourmaline and Lacey were to inform the rest of my subjects of the truth and join us on Earth but it appears someone discovered their connection to the rebellion. Only Tourmaline, along few soldiers and elites, managed to arrive at the rendezvous point. She informed us that she had lost contact with Lacey after she and Pink Sapphire went to retrieve the rest of my soldiers and the Legion. Her own group had been ambushed by a swarm of Hunter Robonoids that shattered some of them and she was forced to leave some Gems behind as they escaped."

Rose sniffed as a few tears fall from her eyes, obviously in emotional pain at the recollection of the apparent death of two Gems close to her. Not wanting to see his mother like this, Steven goes over to and embraces her tightly. Slight surprised by this, Rose reciprocates her son's hug, grateful for the small comfort it provided.

Pink Diamond smiles at the interaction between mother and son. Once they separate, with Rose feeling a bit better, Pink continues the story.

"Tourmaline and her group joined the Crystal Gems under the pretense that they had grown tired of the Diamonds' rule and had been waiting for an opportunity to leave."

"It took a while to convince the other Crystal Gems that they were sincerely in our side," Rose recalls, adding to the tale. "Tourmaline as easily believable since had been mistreated by the Authority before joining the Pink Court, but some of the others were high ranking elites who had more to lose by defecting than by joining us. Pearl was especially paranoid, convinced that they had to be spies, so she and a few others began keeping an eye on them, trying to 'catch them in the act of revealing our secrets to Homeworld'. They stopped harassing them after they proved that they were loyal to us."

"Me and my Pearl his ourselves in a secret Gem structure in the dessert since we felt that it wasn't a good time to reveal myself as the true leader of the rebellion. Rose would periodically come from time to time to inform me of what was happening. One day, she brought a small lion cub that she had rescued from the desert."

" _Me!"_

Steven jumps, startled by the mental voice. "Oh, Lion. I forgot that you were here for a second."

Lion didn't look offended at being practically ignored all the time. _"My pride had been recently killed by rival lions and I was left alone to wander the dessert in search of food and water. I had just about collapsed of exhaustion when Rose found me and brought me to Mistress hiding place to recover."_

"He stuck around after recovering, apparently having grown fond of \us." Pink Diamond smiles as she scratches Lion behind the ears, the large feline seemingly enjoying the attention. "There was a small oasis near my hideout that provided him with the necessary food and water."

The small sweet moment ends when Pink proceeds to the next part of the story. "A few years passed and the Crystal Gems kept emerging victorious against whatever Homeworld threw at us. The day came when the Authority suddenly ordered all their troops to retreat."

"Every Gem still loyal to Homeworld evacuated the planet in masses, either by ships or the Galaxy Warp." Rose continues. "We thought that we had won, that Homeworld was leaving the planet for good." Her face and tone became grim. "We were gravely mistaken."

"My apparent 'death' had affected my sisters even more than I imagined for they resorted to use the most powerful and horrendous ability we Diamonds possess," In an ominous tone, Pink utters two words that sent shivers running down Steven spine. "Gem Corruption."

The hybrid boy shivers as his mind tries to process what had been revealed to him. The Diamonds, the very ones that ruled Homeworld, the ones his family had been protecting the Earth from for centuries; they had the power to turn a whole army into the very monsters the Crystal gems fought on a daily basis.

"All four of us Diamonds can turn other Gems into mindless beasts by channeling our power through a song." Pink Diamond continues to explain. "My sisters combined their songs, channeling all their rage and sorrow to create a massive corruption wave that encompassed the whole planet. Only a few Gems managed to escape its effects, mostly thanks to Rose's bubble shield, the rest lost themselves to the Corruption."

"Is that what happened to you?"

Pink sighs. "Not exactly."

 _Flashback_

 _A frantic Rose sprinted through the dessert, desperate to reach the hidden dessert base where her Diamond had been residing. She had left Pearl and Garnet watching over Hiddenite and Turquoise to make sure they had really not been affected by the strange light and sound as the two young Gems had been too far away for Rose to protect with her shield. So many had already succumbed to it, their forms twisted into grotesque creatures that no longer seemed to recognize their former comrades. The thought of seeing her beloved Diamond turned into a mindless beast was almost too much for Rose to bear but the pink warrior firmed herself and increased her speed towards her destination._

 _She arrived at the hidden base a few minutes later but to her horror, she found the front entrance destroyed as if someone or something had smashed its way out. Fearing the worst, Rose summoned her shield and crossed the threshold, entering the dark base. She walked through the destroyed corridor, the lights overhead flickering on and off, creating an ominous atmosphere. Rose finally reached the main chamber, its doors also having been ripped off their frames._

" _My Diamond!" Rose cried in despair as she notices the prone figure laying in the middle of the trashed room._

 _Rushing to Pink Diamond's side, Rose kneels besides her and accesses her condition. The Diamond's form flicker and glitches but her Gem did not appear to be damaged, though the jewel resting on her Diamond's navel was disturbingly opaque._

 _A groan pierced the silence. "R-Rose..."_

" _My Diamond!"_

" _Y-You're... alright..." the pink former Homeworld leader was struggling to speak. "I f-feared that... the corruption... had gotten you..."_

" _My bubble shielded me and a few others, and two more also were unaffected but the others..." Rose struggled to get the words out without breaking into tears but was unsuccessful. "I couldn't do anything! M-My shield wasn't b-big enough to s-save everyone! I let them all down! I let_ you _down! I-"_

" _Rose... stop..." her Diamond's soothing voice stopped Rose's sobbing cries. "This... is not... your fault. My sisters' power... was just too great for you... especially if... they combined it like that."_

Sniffle. _"C-Can you do something about it?"_

 _Pink Diamond sighs, slightly wincing in pain as her form flickers again. "As it is right now... I can't much... I used up most of my power... to keep myself from corrupting. I couldn't even... protect my dear Pearl from it... The Guardian tried to stop her from leaving... but she was too strong for him."_

 _It was then that Rose noticed the leonine figure crumpled against the wall, looking as if it had been thrown against it. The lion lay completely still, its body not showing any signs of life._ "No," _whispered Rose as she realized that another being precious to her was gone forever._

 _A pained sound drew Rose's attention back to the weakened Diamond. "Rose, I barely have enough energy... to maintain my form... It's going to take centuries for me to restore what I used... so before I go... I want to give you some of my remaining power..."_

" _What!"_

" _Your abilities will be greatly boosted... and you will gain some of my powers as well."_

" _My Diamond, I'm not worthy, I-"_

" _Please, I insist. Please, accept this last gift from me... use it to protect the Earth until I reform. Please..."_

 _Tears once again streamed down Rose's face as she nodded in acceptance. "I will, My Diamond. I promise."_

 _Pink gave a weak smile as she placed her trembling hand on Rose's gem, her own stone glowing faintly as she transferred her power to her favorite Quartz. Rose gasped slightly as she felt her Diamond's power coursing through her entire being, her gem and eyes glowing with a soft pink light. It was all over a moment later and Pink Diamond's hand dropped to the ground._

" _Goodbye... my dear Rose..."_

Poof. _Clink!_

 _Grief hit Rose like a punch from a Quartz fusion, sobs wracking her form as she held the inert pink diamond gem in her hands. After what felt like hours, the rebel leader cries died down, only sniffling once in a while. She then stood up and walked over to the dead body of the lion she had watched grow ever since she had found on one of her walks through the dessert. Fresh tears threatened to emerge as she grieved for the Guardian, for her Diamond, for all the Gems that had been either shattered or corrupted because of this war._

 _A single tear slid down Rose's face and splashed on the large cat's cold face. Suddenly, a bright light shone from the spot the tear had landed on, startling the grieving Gem. The glow extended to the Guardian's whole body, the brightness becoming so intense that Rose had to close her eyes. As the light faded away, Rose uncovered her eyes and gasped at what she saw. The lion's once tawny coat was now as pink as her ringlets, his wispy mane a rosy shade instead of golden-brown. This was not the only change for his formerly still chest was now slowly rising and falling, indicating breathing._

" _G-Guardian?" uttered Rose, not daring to believe the small hope she felt._

 _The lion's eyes open and the great beast slowly rose until he's sitting on his haunches, staring at Rose with an unblinking gaze. Rose stared right back in disbelief, too shocked to do anything else. The feline moved first, his gaze lowering towards the pink, rhombus-shaped gem resting between Rose's arms. The big cat's ears drop in sadness as her lowers his head to lightly nudge the stone with his muzzle. Lifting his head back, he once again gazed at Rose before rubbing his head against her body, as if trying to give comfort._

 _The contact caused Rose to snap out of her stupor and she wrapped her arms around the lion's neck, her sobs returning. The two pink beings remained like that for a whole day, finding strength and comfort in each other as they grieved everything they had lost._

 _End Flashback_

Silence reigned in the Quartz Sanctum after Pink and Rose finished the last tale, being broken by an exclamation from a certain Human-Gem Hybrid.

"Lion's a zombie!?" He gawks at the pink lion with wide eyes and shrunken pupils, the feline friend staring back with what appeared to be a deadpan look.

" _What's a zombie?"_ Pink whisper-asks Rose, confused by the word. The Quartz just gave a shoulder shrug, not knowing what a zombie was either.

" _I'm not a member of the living dead, Steven."_

"Are you sure?"

Lion sighs. _"Yes, I'm sure since I still have a heartbeat. Granted, it's slower than before I was revived as is the rest of my metabolism so I don't really need to eat or drink anymore. I still do it because I like it, though."_

"Oh, ok," Satisfied that his furry friend won't have cravings for his brain; Steven then remembered what else his mother and Pink Diamond had said. "Wait, so you got super cool Diamond powers?" Stars shine in the boy's eyes as he looks at his mother in awe.

A little embarrassed at the attention she was getting from her son, Rose chuckled. "Not exactly. While my own powers became stronger, I was never able to use any of my Diamond's abilities, unlike you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"When you spoke to Lapis Lazuli in your dreams and when you communicated with the Cluster, you used Pink Diamond's Mind Link power," Rose explains.

"Of course, I don't need to fall asleep first before I can use it," Pink Diamond adds. "Meh, you'll be able to fully master with some practice. The point is, you inherited Rose's powers as well as my own and proved that you can use one of them. In time, you might unlock all of them, including my ability to reverse Corruption."

Steven gasped at this revelation. Could he really learn how to heal the corrupted Gems and return them to their previous selves? All of them, even Centipeetle?

"I must be going soon," announced Pink Diamond. "The energy I'm using to communicate with you will soon run out."

"This won't delay your return, will it?" asks Rose in concern.

Pink Diamond shakes her head in negative. "No, in the last 5000 years, my energy has restored itself enough that something like this isn't too draining, especially since I'm using the link between the Guardian and Steven. In fact, it's not long before I'm back at full strength and will be able to reform."

"That's wonderful! How long until then?"

"Not long, I estimate about two or three more Earth years."

Steven's eyes widen at this; Pink Diamond will return by the time he turned 16 or 17. He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Of course, by the time I return, Steven might have unlocked the Corruption Healing power."

"Do you really think I can?" Steven asks with some skepticism.

Pink Diamond smiles as she kneels before him. "I don't think, I know. You can already Mind Link so healing Corruption isn't too far off." She cups his cheek. "If you have some questions or need some advice, the Guardian can help you communicate with me since he guards my Gem."

"You mean it?"

"Yes, you're my precious Rose's son and heir to both our powers, so of course I'll help you reach your full potential."

Steven smiled at that and in an impulsive move, wraps his arms around the Diamond's neck, hugging her tightly. Pink Diamond looks surprised for a second but soon reciprocates the hug as Rose and Lion happily watch.

The hug ended a moment later and Pink Diamond stood up. "Steven, I ask that that when you wake up, you keep your meeting between us a secret. The time is not right for them about me." Steven nods in understanding. "Until next we meet," she says as her body once again becomes a sphere of pink light which floats towards Lion, entering the feline's chest.

"Say Lion," Steven ponders. "What did she mean when she said you guard her Gem?"

" _She means that I protect her Gem because I carry it with me all the time,"_ the cat explains. _"You know that chest inside my mane's dimension? That's where Rose put her after we discovered that I could do that."_ He then stands up. _"Well, I'll be leaving too. Talking with you using the link tired me and while my body is resting, it's not really the same as taking a nap."_

"Goodbye, Guardian." Says Rose. "It was good to see you once again."

"Yeah, it was awesome being able to talk to you." Steven smiles.

Lion nods in acknowledgement and with a roar a portal is formed through which he jumps, returning to his body.

"Steven, your regeneration is almost done and soon you'll be waking up," Rose informs her son. Steven cheers happily, glad that he'll see everyone else soon then yelps as she suddenly gathers him in his arms, tightly hugging him to herself. "Steven, I'm want you to know that I'm so proud of the extraordinary person you'd become and I know that you'll do even more amazing things."

A warm feeling unlike anything her had felt before bloomed within Steven's heart at hearing his mother's words. He hugged her back to express the gratitude and joy he felt at knowing that his mother believed in him so much. Mother and son kept on hugging even as their surroundings faded away and a brilliant pink light encompassed them.

 **The Beach House**

Back in the waking word, everyone that was human was sound asleep as the Gems keep their silent vigil over Steven. Pearl and Garnet had come back from the Temple, the pale Gem looking less distraught than before thought worry was still present. Dawn was but just a few minutes away and the child had not shown any signs of awakening.

All of a sudden, their attention was drawn to the comatose boy as the rose-colored gem on his stomach lit up in an intense pink glow.

"What the...? What's going on!" squawked Pearl frantically.

"Yeah, what's happening to him, G?" Amethyst looks at their leader for answers.

"I-I don't know," the fusion was just as confused as her comrades. Lapis and Peridot just stood back with looks of worry, the little green Gem clutching her Robonoid tightly to herself as she pressed herself to Lapis side, the blue Gem having her arm around the technician's shoulder in comfort.

The light woke up the sleeping humans and they all stampeded up to Steven's loft, Connie in the lead. They watch as the light encompassed the entirety of Steven's body, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the intense glow. The light diminished then died out, allowing everyone to see again and they all gasped at the sight before them.

A moment later Steven opened his eyes with a groan and he sit up slightly, his somewhat blurry vision clearing to see his friends and family standing next to his bed, staring at him. "Hey guys," he smiles.

The sound of is voice seemed to break whatever spell everyone was under because not a moment later, Steven was being crushed to death bug a group hug courtesy of Connie, his dad, Garnet, Amethyst , Pearl, Lapis and Peridot (and Peri's Robonoid).

"You're ok, you're ok!" cried Connie, hugging him tighter as if her would disappear.

"Yeah, you had us worried, little man," smiled Amethyst trying to act as if she hadn't been crying.

"Sorry, for worrying you," Steven apologizes. "Um, not that I don't like hugs but I can't breathe."

They all had sheepish expressions as they allow him to fill his lungs with air. Garnet then walks forwards to kneel at Steven's beside and asks him, "How are you feeling?"

"Oh," he thinks about it for a moment. "I feel good, actually, thought little different to be honest."

"You _do_ look a little different," says Pearl cautiously.

Steven was about to ask what she meant when he noticed something about himself. "Did my clothes shrink while I was asleep?"

"Um actually, _you_ grew a bit, Stuball," says Greg.

Steven's eyes widen at that and he jumps out of bed, sprinting down the stairs and into the bathroom with everyone following close behind. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Before, he was a few inches shorter than Connie but now, he was taller than her by almost two inches. His hair was also longer, reaching his shoulders, the brown locks having a spikier look. _'Well, I did regenerate, sorta,'_ he though. _'I guess this must be my new 'form'.'_

"I'm gonna need some bigger clothes," was the only thing he could think to say as he exited the bathroom. The mix of Gems and humans waiting for him just laughted happily and hugged him again, Steven hugging back this time. A new outfit could wait, for now, Steven just reveled in the affection of his loved ones as the first lights of dawn pierced the shadows of twilight.

* * *

 **And that was chapter eight, folks! We were introduced to some new characters and learned a bit more about the pasts of Rose, Lion and Pink Diamond. The story is almost at its conclusion, the only thing left is an epilogue to tie up any lose ends we might have. I'm going to be busy this next week but I'll do my best to update as soon as I can. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and are not afraid to leave some constructive criticism and suggestions to help me write better chapters. Bye and don't forget to leave a review!**


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